The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1
by Michael The-Zorch Haney
Summary: Tenchi realizes his feelings for Aeka and Ryoko, and a new phase of their lives together begins. However, a new threat and an old enemy threaten to shatter their happiness.
1. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Prol...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Prologue  
  
Tenchi Masaki said his goodnights to his dad and grandfather and   
went up to his bedroom. The women in his life had already gone on to   
bed, and as he passed each of their rooms he could hear the reassuring   
sound of their breathing as they slept. Even Ryoko, who was in the   
habit of staying up late, was sound asleep. She was getting her beauty   
sleep tonight because in two nights was her night out with him. Tenchi   
had started the ritual of taking each of them out on dates in order to   
truely get to know them better. He got to his room and slowly closed   
the door behind him. As was his nightly ritual, Tenchi went ot his   
Toshiba laptop, flipped it on, and started making entries into his   
personal journal.  
  
[Personal Journal of Tenchi Masaki  
Date: 11/28/2000  
  
Dear Journal,  
  
Today was a day like any other day in the Masaki household.   
Princess Aeka and Ryoko had their usual spat this morning, but it was no   
where nearly as destructive as the battles they used to have a few years   
ago. That idea I came up with to treat both women equally and take   
each of them out on a regular basis was doucing the fires a little.   
This week is Ryoko's night out with me, and I though about taking her to   
that Festival Dance I found out about last night. I enjoy the time I   
have with both of them and I care for them both very much. No, I   
love both of them very much, and they both love me. They have not said   
so but their eyes and their manners reveal it to me. How can I possibly   
choose betweeen them if I am in love with both of them. They mean so   
much to me, and if I choose I will hreak the other's heart. I will   
not accept it as something unavoidable. I wish things were so much   
easier. I can't marry them both since that sort of thing is illegal in   
Japan, but it would solve our problem. I can't imagine my life without   
either one of them in it.  
We will be celebrating our third year together on Earth. Its been third years since we all came together and began to live under the same   
roof. It seems like a million years ago that I visited that cave so   
long ago and freed Ryoko. All of the others seemed to follow soon   
after. I have a place in my heart for Washu, Sasami, Mihoshi and   
Khyone, but I don't love them like I love Ryoko and Aeka. Many times I   
wondered what it would be like to just be in their arms for once rather   
than running from them. I act infuriated with Ryoko when she shows up   
in my bed in the morning, but secretly in my heart I wish I could reach   
out and take her in my arms. I wish that Aeka would be more open about   
her feelings for once, but she is too noble and digified to try anything   
like that. It is tearing me part inside that I cannot show my   
affections for them in a stronger way, but if I let my inhibition go and   
sleep with one of them I will hurt the other and drive her away. I   
can't do that! Has any man been stuck in this sort of situation   
before? I still can't believe how quickly they forgave me for what   
happened in Toyko last year.  
Well, its getting late and I have to prepare things starting   
tomarrow. The party is set for next week to celebrate our anniversary   
togther. I'll let you know how things go with Ryoko this weekend.  
  
Bye for now... ]  
  
Tenchi closed down his laptop and set there thinking for a moment.  
All sorts of thoughts went through his mind. He was faced wtih   
indecision, he loved Aeka, he loved Ryoko, but he could not choose   
between them. He didn't want to choose between them because it would   
mean hurting one of them, and he loved them too much to do that to   
either one of them. He felt trapped and helpless on this rollercoaster   
ride called 'love'. -How did I get myself into this mess? How did I   
fall head-over-heels in love with two women at the same time?- Tenchi   
put his head in his hands and felt like crying or screaming into the   
night sky. He longed to be in their arms but knew it would never work   
with both of them. One woman would accuse the other of trying to take   
too much time with him, or they would accuse each other of trying to steal him away and the fighting would start all over again. He had just   
managed to work things out so the fighting was kept to a minimum.  
Tenchi then though about what he wrote in his journal. He   
couldn't legally marry both women and no amount of pleading would   
convince his granndpa to do the ceremony. It was at that moment that   
his thoughts went to Juraian law. He started rummaging around in his   
desk looking for the datapad that Aeka had given him for his nineteenth   
birthday last year. The datapad contained several volumes of books on   
Juraian culture, history and law. She though it was important that he   
learn it since he was a member of the Royal family and future emperor of   
Planet Jurai.  
He found the thin datapad, placed it on the desk, and a tranlucent   
control panel projected up from it. It looked like the holopads that   
Washu was always using, he though when he first accessed it with Aeka.   
He recalled a few words from the Juraian language he had been learning   
and keyed them in. He entered in marriage and two, but no results cmae   
up with that. He entered union and two. The datapad worked for several   
seconds, seconds that seemed like hours, and then displayed the result.   
The projected image was of the Royal Family, the Emperor of Jurai,   
Fonaho the mother of Yosho, and Misaki the mother of Aeka and Sasami.   
He carefully read each word trying to translate each one. Emperor Asazi   
was father to Yosho as well as the father to Aeka and Sasami, but he did   
not marry both of their mothers, and neither did he marry just one and   
not the other. He found a reference to something that they did that   
made their union legal under Juraian law. He followed the link and it   
took him to a different subject. Tenchi sat up most of the night   
reading the description and the history behind it. It was nearly 3am at   
night when he finally closed down the datapad and layed down to bed.   
  
He was still deep in thought as sleep started to take its hold on him. -Will it work? It has to work, it has to work!- Before long he was   
fast asleep with dreams of Ryoko and Aeka swirling around in his   
mind.  
  
Somewhere in another reality...  
  
First Crown Prince Orrin Quintarin surveyed the land before him   
and gave a hmpf. Before him were the sprawled structures of an Imperium   
weapons cache. All manner of different exotic explosives and weapons   
could be found there. Most of them, he guessed, were probably illegal  
subspace weapons or biological weapons banned by the Galactic Council.   
This fact did little to deter the Imperium from making its own rules,   
breaking laws, and finding ways to keep the council from finding out   
about it. However, they did not foresee a young prince from the  
Setari Empire stumbling upon their secret while on an archeological   
expedition. That was many years ago when Orrin discovered the secret   
behind the Imperium and their plot to subvert the Galactic Council and   
take over the Galactic Federation.  
The weapons cache was not his target, but the structures that were   
beyond them. In the distance Orrin could see the main spire of the   
Imperium communications tower. The tower stood in the center of a   
military base which should not even be on this planetoid at all. The   
region was designated at a 'free zone' and no military from any   
government under the Galactic Federation was allowed. The Imperium had   
a different opinion about the situation and built this base here. Orrin   
discovered it and soon learned that what he was looking for could be  
found here. What it was he needed was the evidence that would indict   
the Imperium on charges of sedition, political treachery, slavery, and   
piracy. All he needed was to get the right data crystal from the base   
data archives. This would prove to be a challenge since a large force   
of Imperium mechanized units, large walking robotic war machines, were   
patroling the base.  
Orrin himself was wearing a Setari power-armor suit of his own   
design. He looked like a futuristic knight in black armor. With a   
touch of a finger to a control on his arm, Orrin was enveloped in a   
cloaking field that made him invisible. Slowly he headed towards the   
Imperium base on his quest to bring the Imperium's plot to an end.  
  
Back in more familiar surroundings...  
  
Washu was having a pleasent dream, she was giggling as she rolled   
over in her bed. In her dreams she was rolling around under the covers   
with a certain teenaged Japanese high school student. They were   
playfully teasing each other with kisses and caresses. In this  
fantasy world Ryoko and Aeka was off bickering with one another while   
Washu and her favorite guinea pig ran off to have some fun. She woke up   
with a start and snapped her fingers in annoyance. That certain boy in   
her dreams was about to end the foreplay when she was woken up by the   
sound of an alarm. Grumbling to herself she climbed out of bed, walked   
out into her sprawling subspace lab, and walked up to the main computer.   
The translucent display was flashing at her and sounding out with a loud   
alarm. "Cut that out! I'm awake!" she shouted.  
The computer ceased the alarm and started displaying a stream of   
data. Washu sat on her floating seat and looked it all over. For a   
while she didn't seem too interesed in what she was seeing, but then   
suddenly her eyes widened. "When did this start happening?" she asked  
the computer. The computer displayed the information she wanted. The   
greatest scientific genius in the universe scratched her chin and looked   
at the data again.  
"Start recording this data, and I want a graphical report every   
two hours." she ordered.  
"Oh, and startup my cappachino machine....I'm gonna be up late."  
__________  
Chpater One - Love Letters  
  
Tenchi woke up in good spirits and felt as if a great weight had   
been lifted off of him. The smell of one of Sasami's great breakfasts   
drifted up the stairs and he took it all in as if he were experiencing   
it all for the first time. He dressed himself quickly, grabbed up his  
bookbag, and headed for the stairs. Aeka greated him at her bedroom   
door as she was also coming out.  
"Good morning, Lord Tenchi." she said.  
"Good morning." he smiled.  
"Your looking quite hansome this morning." she smiled back.  
"Uh, thanks, Aeka, your looking very pretty." he said blushing a bit.  
  
The princess smiled and blushed furiously.  
  
In the living room Ryoko was lounging on the couch watching   
television with Mihoshi and Khyone. The show was some import from   
America about some space station and the alien embassadors that lived on   
it. The scene was a huge battle between a group of sleek looking ships   
and a bunch of dark vessels that seemed to resemble Ryu-Ohki. "Oh, I   
hate those Shadows." Mihoshi scowled at the screen.  
"I'm glad they're just make believe." Knyone said in mocking   
relief.  
"Nah, I've seen things that would make these Shadows look like   
pussy cats." Ryoko laughed.  
"Really? What did they look like, were they mean?" Mihoshi   
exclaimed so excited that she made Khyone spill some hot coffee on   
herself.  
"Mihoshi! I'm trying to watch the show!" Khyone complained.  
"Sorry." the blonde Galaxy Policewoman said weakly.  
  
Tenchi couldn't help but feel sorry for the young policewoman. She was in fact a very  
beautiful woman with a petite figure, blonde hair, and a childlike innocence that you could not  
help but love. She was also chaos-in-physical-form capable of incredible destruction if you  
let her out of your sight for too long. It was the fact of her uncanny blind luck that saved  
her skin on many occations and even saved some of them at different times. Mihoshi was the  
stereotypical blonde airhead, but Tenchi saw beyond her good looks to the real beauty   
that was her innocent and friendly nature.  
Khyone was a mystery to Tenchi ever since she came to Earth looking for Mihoshi. She was  
her partner and seemed pretty level headed. Her career in the Galaxy Police was her life, but  
she blamed Mihoshi for all the missed chances at promotions she had over the years. She would  
yell and scream at Mihoshi at times when the blonde policewoman was at her ditzies moments.  
Deep inside, Tenchi knew, Khyone loved Mihoshi like a sister with all her heart even though  
she would never admit it. He also knew that she had a secret feeling for him, too.  
"Morning Tenchi." came a voice that broke his chain of thought.  
Sasami walked out of the kitchen holding a pitcher of fresh orange juice. Ryu-Ohki in  
cabbit form was resting on top of her head. The little princess was wearing her carrot appron  
and had her baby blue hair done up in her trademark twin pony-tail style. Her pink eyes  
sparkled with the innocence of youth and her smile was enough to melt even the coldest of  
hearts.  
"Good, morning. Something sure smells good, Sasami." he repled.  
"Thanks, breakfast will be ready in a minute." she said going back into the kitchen.  
It was at that moment that Ryoko made her move. She teleported from the couch and  
reappeared behind Tenchi. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders in an embrace. Before last  
night he would have tried to pull out of that embrace, but Tenchi could not find the strengh  
or desire to do so this time. "Good morning, Tenchi." she whispered into his ear.  
"Miss Ryoko, must you latch onto Tenchi every morning?" Aeka scolded.  
"Oh princess, its only nature for Tenchi and me to cuddle up." the space pirate replied.  
"You let him go this instant, you she-devil!" Aeka's face was starting to turn blood  
red. Sparks flew between them as they started to growl at each other.  
Before a roaring battle could ensue in the living room, Tenchi thought of a way to cool  
them down. He reached around and pulled Ryoko to his side, and then grabbed Aeka likewise.  
Both women looked stunned suddenly and forgot the fight they were about to start. Then, the  
two swooned as he placed a soft kiss on each of their cheeks in turn.  
"Please don't fight girls." he pleaded softly as he stood there holding them.  
"Ok, anything for you Tenchi." Ryoko said batting her eyelashes at him.  
"Anything you say, Lord Tenchi." Aeka replied as if in a trance.  
Aeka walked over to the couch and sat down with a whistful look her face while Ryoko  
levitated off the ground and started doing sumersaults in the air. Khyone and Mihoshi looked at the two women in surprise, and then at Tenchi. That was the very first time they ever saw him actually kiss them before. Khyone was happy to see Tenchi getting some backbone when it came to the two girls, and Mihoshi just stared in amazement at the effect he had on them.  
  
Sasami called everyone into breakfast and the whole family gathered around the dining  
room table. Noboyuki and Yosho joined them soon after. Noboyuki, Tenchi's father, could not  
help but notice a different atmosphere at the breakfast table. Before them was layed out  
another one of Sasami's masterpieces of culinary art. She made a western breakfast that was  
becoming popular in the Masaki household. The usual Japanese breakfast centered around  
fish, rice, and sometimes steamed vegetables, but this breakfast was a big departure from the  
norm. There were ham & cheese omlets, bacon, buscuits, gravy, pancakes, and pitchers of maple  
syrup and orange juice. He looked at each of girls and noticed Khyone and Mihoshi were   
watching Aeka and Ryoko.  
The Jurai princess and the space pirate were not fighting or arguing as they usually did  
at the breakfast table. They seemed to be looking off into the distance as they ate and didn't  
seem to notice the world around them. Tenchi was siting next to Sasami and Mihoshi at the  
table and such an arrangement would have sparked some jealousy from his two love  
interests. It still surprised him sometimes that Aeka, who looked be around 17 years old, was  
sometimes jealous of her little sister who looked be around 9 or 10 years old when she was  
around Tenchi. Maybe it had something due to the fact that Sasami and the Juraian goddess Tsunami were partially the same person. This was due to them assimilating with each other 700 years ago when a very young Sasami fell to her death in the Royal Gardens on Jurai. The assimilation was not complete because Tsunami didn't want to steal Sasami's childhood from her, but one day they would combine into one being sharing thoughts and memories as one mind and one body.  
Nobody seemed to notice that Washu was missing.  
"So, Tenchi, I understand your finals are coming up." Noboyuki decided to break the silence.  
"Uh, ya. After the winter break." Tenchi said.  
"Hmm. This is your last year of high school." Yosho said.  
Yosho sat across from Noboyuki at the table and next to Ryoko, whom he entombed 700 years  
ago in her cave prison. Now he appeared to be a man in his late 60's wearing glasses and the  
white robes of calling as a Shinto priest.  
"When summer comes around I will ready for college, grandpa." Tenchi smiled.  
"Your mother would be proud of you." Noboyuki said with a tear in his eye.  
"We are all proud of your complishment, Lord Tenchi." Aeka joined in.  
Tenchi just blushed at their compliments. When breakfast was done he picked up his lunch  
from Sasami and headed for the door. "Ok, I'm headed to school. See you all later." he  
called. As he walked through the front door he heard the girls inside shouting to him.  
"Goodbye, Tenchi!" Sasami waved.  
"Remember to think of me, Tenchi!" Ryoko said.  
"That might give him nightmares!" Aeka snorted.  
"Why you!" Ryoko growled balling her fists.  
  
His day was a usual one his at high school. Tenchi suffered the usually teasing  
by his male classmates for the harem he keeps at his house. When the women first arrived  
on Earth he tried his best to keep these haunti's from finding about them. He knew exactly what they would think about him having a house full of gorgeous girls living with him. The  
secret did leak out and now he was the subject of all sorts of jokes. Tenchi took it all in  
stride since two of those women he lived with were the most important in his entire life, and  
on many occations he nearly gave his life to protect them.  
Tenchi walked home with his bookbag flung over his shoulder and wondered about what he  
was going to do next. He recalled clearly what he read the night before and wondered how he  
was going to get the two rivals for his love to agree to it. He had to get both girls  
together at the same time in the same place, but how would he be able to do it without causing  
world war three. He clenched his coat close to his neck to keep out the cold as he walked.  
Winter was coming to this region of Japan but no snow had fallen yet. He though about his  
problem all the way home when he suddenly got a thought. Love letters. -I'll write them a love  
letter, one for each of them, and have them meet me at the same place.- He only hoped that  
when they did show up the two wouldn't try to kill each other. That was why he had to be  
there before they showed up so he could stop any fight before it started. First, he had to see  
Washu. He was also afraid that they might even fry him a bit, but he put that thought aside.  
  
When he got home, Tenchi cautiously looked around and realized that Aeka and Ryoko were  
not around. He noticed a note on the coffee table in the living room. The note was from  
Sasami saying that they all went with Noboyuki into town to do some shopping. That meant that  
he would have some peace and quiet for a few hours to do what he needed to do. The plan was  
afoot. He knocked on the door to Washu's lab, which at one time was the broom closet under  
the stairway. "I'm busy." came a groggy voice from within.  
"Washu, its me, Tenchi. I need to see you." he said.  
The door to the lab opened and he stepped in. The spacious lab was built inside a stable  
pocket of subspace that Washu created in the broom closet. The area could have easily taken up  
the entire house and more. Washu sat on her levatating seat in her 12 year old form and was  
tapping at her translucent console. As he approached he noticed bags under her eyes as if she  
hadn't gotten any sleep for several hours. She had even missed breakfast that morning also.  
"Little Washu, are you alright?" he asked her a little concerned.  
"What, oh, Tenchi. I'm alright, just very busy." she said with a yawn.  
"You've been up all night again." he said.  
"Thanks for caring." she said, but then Tenchi always cares for everyone in his house.  
"What did you need to see me about." She smiled up at him and batted her eyelashes at him.  
"Umm, I wanted to talk to you about your daughter and Aeka." he said.  
Washu turned around assumed her adult form before his eyes. Now instead of being the  
likeness of a 12 year old girl with ankle length red hair, she was now a beautiful young  
woman with waist length red hair. She appeared to be about 19 years old in this form, but  
she was actually more like 20,000 years old. The childlike appearance she normally wore was  
more for protection than anything else. The Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe had alot of enemies and they were looking for Washu, the woman, and not Washu the child. She had  
other person reasons for wanting to live as a child, but those were painful memories she would  
rather not remember if she could help it.  
"What's wrong? I though you put a stop to all the fighting?" she asked.  
"I did, to a point, but its not that." he said as he started to turn red.  
"Something is wrong. Tell Little Washu." she said in a cheerful tone.  
"I am in love with both of them. Its how I feel." he said.  
"I see your problem." she said scratching her chin.  
"I have an idea to solve it, but I need help." he said.  
With that he proceeded to explain his feeling for the two women in his life. Washu just  
sat there listening as Tenchi poured his heart out to her about Ryoko and Aeka, and how he  
wished there was a way they could all be happy. After he wiped away the tears at the end of  
his confession of undying love for both girls he went into explanation of his idea. Washu  
raised a questioning eyebrow at this idea. She knew what he was taling about, but she wondered  
if he understood what exactly it was that he was asking for.  
"Are you sure about this?" she asked him.  
"More than anything else in the world." he replied.  
"Well, normally you would need a Jurai tree, but we seem to be short of those here." she  
said.  
"But, I do have something that is just as good." she continued.  
  
Washu walked off into the depths of her lab and returned with a small black box. The box  
was no larger than a CD jewwl case but was slightly thicker. On the top of the box were five  
stones of different colors. These stones seemed to glow with an inner light. She handed the  
box to Tenchi, who took it with great care.  
"This device is one of my earliest creations, so please take care of it." she told him.  
"How do I use it?" he asked.  
Washu explained how the device was to be used for what he needed it to do. She made sure  
that he understood everything before she finished her description. "You got all that?" she  
asked him.  
"Ya, I got it. I'll never forget this, Little Washu." he said misty eyed.  
"Before you go, are you sure this is what you want?" she asked him.  
"Yes." he said.  
"Tenchi. Be careful, ok?" she said in a pleading voice.  
Tenchi turned away from the door and walked up to the red haired genius. She looked up  
at his kind eyes and saw the resolve in them. -Your serious about this.- He looked at into her  
eyes and they held that gaze for a short moment. Then, Tenchi broke the moment by leaning  
forward and kissing her on the lips, for the first time. It was an innocent kiss and very  
brief. For Washu it seemed to last forever. When it was over she had tears running down her  
eyes. "Thank you." she said and it came out as a whisper.  
With that Tenchi turned and vanished through the door. She sat there for a while with a  
finger touching her lips. -You know, the real Tenchi is a better kisser.-  
  
Tenchi returned to the house and was pleased to find it was still empty. He might have  
an hour or only a few minutes to do what he had to do next. Quickly he took the steps to the  
second floor and rushed into this room. He pushed Washu's black box under his bed and then  
grabbed two sheets of clean white paper from his desk drawer. Using a thin quill pen he  
got from his grandfather for writing prayer scrolls at the shrine, he sat and thought about  
how to write the love letters to Aeka and Ryoko. Tenchi thought about all of the feelings he  
had for the two women and knew he had to express those feelings in this letter. He had to have  
them meet him in a certain place, and he already know what that was. The perfect spot was near  
the boulder that overlooked the lake. It was the same boulder that he and Aeka stood on when  
he took her on a tour of the land around the Shrine after her arrival on Earth. It was also  
close to the Demon's Cave. The proximity to that place was perfect because it was a metaphore  
meant for Ryoko...to forget the the past and look towards the future, so to speak.  
Slowly and carefully he wrote each letter in the rune-like language of the Japanese  
alphabet. The style was almost a lost art in the island nation where the written word was  
replaced by the stroke of a keyboard. This was an art form that priests maintained for the  
purposes of writing prayer scrolls. When he was done he let each letter dry and made sure the  
wet ink of the characters did not run. That step was done. He read each one, each addressed  
to its intended person, and was happy with the results. They effectively conveyed his true  
feelings in the most elequent way he could think of. Now, he had to wait for the ink to dry  
and then the next step in his plan would be ready.  
  
No sooner did Noboyuki stop the car did the girls rushed out into the house looking  
for Tenchi. They found him in the living room carving a piece of balsa wood. It was one of  
the hobbies he picked up recently. He was carving the Knight for a chess set that he was  
making. A box of several completed pieces, mostly the Pawns, sat on the coffee table with  
a wooden chessboard that he made form scrap wood pieces.  
"Hey, looking good Tenchi." Ryoko said admiring his handiwork.  
"Yes, your quite an artist." Aeka commented.  
The two girls were carrying in some shopping bags of things they needed. Tenchi put down  
his work and joined them to help bring the rest of the bags in which was groceries. After  
taking the groceries in Sasami promptly ordered everyone out of "her" kitchen and set to  
work putting everything away so she could make dinner. Ryu-Ohki in her toddler form was  
there to help her.  
Aeka went to the stairs to take her and Sasami's bags to their room, but stopped however   
when Ryoko pulled something out of her bag. It was a flowing red dress. She held it up to  
herself and made a pose. Tenchi's face went blood red when he noticed the front had a deeply  
plunging neckline. "This is the dress I'm going to wear for our date, Tenchi." she said  
seductively.  
"Lord Tenchi doesn't want to be see with someone who dresses like a common whore!" Aeka  
scolded her.  
"Dammit, Aeka! I can't take this anymore!" Ryoko sobbed suddenly. That had been the worst  
comment that Aeka had made about her. The women was getting more vicious with her words everyday  
and it was starting to get ot her.  
She was about to fly off and phase through the ceiling when Tenchi grabbed her hand and  
pulled her back down. He looked at Aeka with a scolding look that sent a chill down her spine.  
He loved her very much but thought she could sometimes be the cruelest person he ever knew. To  
be called a whore was one of the worst things you could say to Ryoko who herself was forced to  
do unspeakable things while under the control of Kagato.  
"Aeka, that was uncalled for. Tell her your sorry, right now!" he demanded.  
Aeka looked at Ryoko who was sobbing like a little girl into Tenchi's shoulder and she  
suddenly felt very small. She dropped the bags she was carrying and walked up to her worst  
enemy in the universe. Ryoko looked at her with hurt in her eyes and Aeka suddenly realized  
that she finally crossed the line. Ryoko was suddenly shocked when Aeka hugged her, and it was  
kind of hug she normal gave her sister. "Forgive me, Tenchi is quite right. I am sorry for  
what I said to you." she said with sincerity.  
"It's ok, princess." Ryoko said as she wiped away the tears.  
"It really is a very pretty dress, but its not my style." Aeka continued.  
"That's the different between you and me, princess." Ryoko replied.  
  
Sasami made a simple dinner that night of chicken rice and some salad. Everyone was  
hungry and tired from the chores of the day. Yosho excused himself to bed early because he had  
a wedding to preside over in the morning at the family shrine. Noboyuki disappeared into his  
den to work on his building diagrams for his business. After the table was cleared the girls  
retreated to the onsen to take a well deserved bath. The water in the olympic sized bath tub  
that Washu created using her subspace pockets was nice and warm and helped wash away the  
cares of the day. Ryoko closed her eyes letting the warm water sooth her body while Aeka  
lathered up her hair with some herbal shampoo. Next to them Sasami helped Khyone put her hair  
into a braid and Mihoshi just floated on top of the water relaxing.  
"This place is the best idea 'mother' ever had." Ryoko said.  
"Oh, ya, its great!" Mihoshi said.  
  
"Ryoko, I meant it when I said I was sorry." Aeka said with a whisper.  
"I know, its already forgotten." Ryoko replied.  
  
"Say, you and Tenchi have a date this weekend, right?" Khyone asked.  
"Ya, the Winter Festival Dance. I think." replied Ryoko.  
"Oh, how romantic." said Mihoshi.  
"Well, don't get too romantic, if you know what I mean." Aeka commented.  
"Don't worry, princess. I promise not to try and seduce him...to much." said Ryoko with  
a sly smile.  
"You really are incouragable, Ryoko." Aeka said.  
"Love is a battlefield, princess. And, I am a very good soldier." Ryoko smiled.  
  
"Honestly, Sasami, why don't those two just toss a coin for Tenchi." Khyone whispered.  
"They'd argue over who called heads and who called tails." she aaid.  
Khyone just chucked and Sasami couldn't help but join her.  
  
Before long the five women were out of the tub, dried off, and put on their robes. They  
went their own ways to their bedrooms and noticed that Tenchi had already retired to bed. They  
figured that he was tired from school, but didn't know that he had been busy while they were in  
the onsen. When Aeka and Sasami reached their room the princess noticed a scroll tied with a  
ribbon laying on her bed. Sasami pulled on her nightgown and climbed into the bed next to her sister's.  
"What's that, sis." she asked.  
"I don't know." Aeka said as she untied the ribbon.  
She opened the scroll and started reading the words written within. As she read the  
words tears began to fall down her face. These were tears of joy. She began to sob as Sasami  
climbed out of bed to set next to her. She looked at the note and tried to recall the  
language she learned from Tenchi to read it...  
  
Dear Aeka,  
  
No words can possibly describe how much I care about you. Ever since you first came to  
Earth I knew that I would one day fall in love with you, and I have. I feel as if you a part  
of me and I cannot keep my feelings to myself any longer. I love you. Every night I see your  
face in my dreams and I want to reach out to you but you are not there. I can no longer stand  
to be apart from you and hide my true love for you, my dearest Aeka.  
  
Please do not tell Ryoko of my decision, I want to deal with that myself. I feel that I owe  
it to her to be the one tell her. I need to see you tonight. Please meet me at midnight by  
the great rock overlooking the lake near Ryoko's cave. I will be waiting for you.  
  
Love always,  
  
Tenchi  
  
"Oh, great Tsunami." was all the little princess could say.  
"He does love me, he really does love me." Aeka sobbed with joy.  
"What are you going to do?" Sasami asked.  
"What else, I'll met him at midnight and confess my love to him." she said.  
"Boy, Ryoko is going to take this pretty bad." Sasami commented.  
From somewhere in the house came the sound of a breaking glass.  
  
Ryoko was settling down to go to sleep in her usual place when she noticed a rolled up scroll tied with a red ribbon. It looked like one of the prayer scrolls that Yosho hung on the trees around the   
Masaki shrine all the time. She picked it up and untied the knott. She had a cup of tea in her hands   
and was about to take a sip, but what she read on the scroll made her loose her grip on it. The cup   
fell to the floor and shattered into pieces spraying tea everywhere. She read over the words more   
carefully and she knew she was not mistaken....she had read it all correctly.  
"Oh, Tenchi!" she sighed hugging the letter to her chest in total rapture.  
Upon the letter it read...  
  
Dear Ryoko,  
  
Please forgive me making you wait so long to hear this from me but I can no longer hold  
back my feelings. I love you. I love you more than life itself. I loved you ever since I  
first met you at my school after I freed you from the cave. Even though you were trying to  
kill me at the time I could not take my eyes off of you. I resisted your incredible charms  
and seduction for the last time and I have come to the realization that I cannot live without  
you. I need you, and I want you to be mine if you will still have me, my dearest Ryoko.  
  
I want to be the one to speak to Aeka about this since I feel its my fault for leading   
her on all this time. She abandoned her people to be here with me and I should be the one to  
tell her of my decision. Please do this for me. I need to see you tonight, meet my at the  
great rock just outside your cave.  
  
Love,  
  
Tenchi  
  
Ryoko sat there for a while looking at each word in the letter and for a moment she   
didn't believe it. All sorts of thoughts went through her mind at that moment. Could it be a   
trick by Aeka, or Washu, or was it real. It was real, and she knew it deep in her heart that   
she had finaly won her Tenchi. She sobbed for a while into her pillow to let all of the sadness   
and frustration she had suffered over the past few years drain away and be replaced by joy.   
She then drifted down from the rafters of the living room and looked at the clock on the VCR.   
It was an hour before midnight. She had to get ready to meet the man of her dreams.  
A sound by the stairs alerted her that someone was walking down. She hid the letter  
under her night dress and saw Sasami coming down.  
"Ryoko, I heard a sound. Are you ok?" she asked.  
"Y-Y-Y-Yes. I dropped my tea cup, silly me." she replied with a smile.  
"Ok, but remember to clean it up. Alright?" Sasami said as she went back upstairs.  
"I will." Ryoko called after her.  
Ryoko picked up the broken cup and drumped it into the waste basket in the kitchen, and  
then mopped up the spilled tea. This was the most house work she had done in a long time and  
thought that maybe she should starting doing more of her share of the work now. With that done  
she summoned power from one of her gems on her leg and her outfit changed to the one she wore  
when she first met Tenchi after she was freed from the cave. She sat on the couch and waited  
for the hour to pass before going out into the cold night air to meet with him. When it was  
just before midnight she jumped up and phased out of the house.  
  
Princess Aeka didn't want to disturb Ryoko and didn't realize she just missed her quick   
departure from the house, and was pulling on her winter outfit. She opened the front   
door and breathed in the cold night air. It was a perfect cloudless sky for romance, she   
though as she walked out onto the front porch. There was no snow on the ground yet as winter   
had not fully set in. The air was cold but it would not turn very cold until January came   
around.  
Aeka took her bearings for a minute looking for landmarks on the moonlite ground and   
found the trail she needed to take to the appointed meeting place. She walked slowly and   
carefully so as not to trip over a tree root or large stone hidden in the darkness. In the   
distance she could see the large rock that was where she would meet Tenchi...the place where   
hey would begin their new life together.  
  
Ryoko flew slowly to the rock near her cave which had been her prison for 700 years. It  
seemed appropriate somehow that this place would be where Tenchi would meet with her. It was  
symbolic somehow, she figured. The great boulder was shimmering with midnight dew in the moon-  
light as she approached it. The view of the lake at night from this vantage point was  
spectacular. This was a great place for a romantic encounter, she thought. There was no  
sign of Tenchi here yet, but he might be on his way since it was not quite midnight. She  
decided to sit down and wait for him to appear. When he did she would fly into his arms and  
smother him with all the affections she stored up for past few years.  
  
Tenchi was indeed at the appointed place but he was hiding under some bushes. He did  
not want Ryoko to know he was there until Aeka showed up. He realized he had to be quick to  
show himself or a battle might ensue between the two women. Ryoko was sitting there on the  
rock looking out over the lake as if day dreaming. She looked even more beautiful in the  
moonlight then she did during the day. A sound in the distance told him that Aeka was making  
her way up the path from the house to the boulder. Her face seemed so angelic when she  
emerged from the trees and moonlight shown on her face. Both of the women were incredible  
beautiful to him. He felt as if his heart might skip a beat.  
  
The first reaction the two women had at seeing each other in the same place was total  
shock. Ryoko leaped to feet and took a fighting stace as Aeka summoned her mini-guardians  
via the power of Jurai.  
"What are you doing here?" Aeka demanded.  
"I was going to ask you the same thing, princess." Ryoko snapped.  
"Your obviously here to ruin the special moment that Tenchi and I are going to have  
here!" Aeka screamed.  
"What have you been smoking, princess. I'm here to have a romantic encounter with my  
Tenchi!" Ryoko growled Angrily.  
"Your Tenchi! This proves that Tenchi is MINE!" Aeka exclaims as she pulls out her love  
letter.  
"Yours! In your wet dreams! This is my proof of Tenchi's love for ME!" Ryoko answers  
back showing her letter.  
"That letter is a fake, and you know it!" Aeka screamed.  
"This is a low move for you, princess. You know Tenchi only has eyes for me." Ryoko  
replied.  
The two women started to growl at each other and the power for a battle started to  
build. Tenchi knew he let this go far enough and it was time for him to step out of the   
shadows. The two combatants were ready to start attacking each other when they noticed a   
third person in their presence. Their power wavered when they realized who it was that was  
standing there.  
"lord Tenchi, this monster-woman is trying to ruin our lives together!" Aeka exclaimed  
pointing an accusing finger at Ryoko.  
"Don't listen to her Tenchi, she is just trying to get between us!" Ryoko shot back.  
"Actually, girls, I wrote both letters." he said calmly and braced himself.  
  
This statement took both of them totally by surprise. They looked at Tenchi with a look  
of shock on their faces. Neither of them not sure of what to say next so Tenchi took this  
as his cue to step forward to explain himself. Slow he walked up to them both and took each  
woman by the hand. They seemed to resist him for a moment but their confusion and emotions for  
him overpowered their surprise. He looked into their eyes and saw the pleading in them and  
they saw the kindness and love in his own gaze. For a moment he thought they might go off on him  
and unleach their power at him, but their eyes told him they wanted...needed to hear him out.  
"I needed to talk to you both away from the others." he said. "You see, a few days ago  
I came to a revelation that changed my whole outlook on life. I realized that if anything  
were to happen to either of you I couldn't live with myself. Every night I sleep I see you in  
my dreams, and your all I see during the day when I am at school. I haven't fallen in love  
with either one of you. I-I-I fell in love with BOTH of you."  
Akea and Ryoko's minds went whirling in a sea of conflicting emotions. They knew for a  
fact beyond truth that they both loved him with all their hearst. But, he loved both of them,  
at the same time. He confessed it to them right here right now. It was their dream come  
true, and their worse nightmare at the same time. How could this ever work out? How did this  
happen? Where do we go from here? What will happen to us?  
"Let get out of this cold so we can talk." he said and they just nodded.  
  
The three sat together in the main part of the Masaki shrine to be away from the house and   
out of the cold weather at the same time. Tenchi stocked up the hearth that sat in one corner   
of the shrine that kept the building warm during the winter months. The two women looked at   
their love expectantly as he sat down with them. The three sat for a long while just looking   
at each other before one had the courage to speak.  
"Will you ever choose between us, someday?" Aeka asked.  
"I can't. I would hurt the other and I can't bring myself to do that...ever." Tenchi  
said.  
"Then, does this means your letting us go." She asked in a very sad voice.  
"NO, I will never let you go...not ever again." he said squeezing their hands gently.  
"How can we work this out? Isn't paligamy illegal in Japan?" Ryoko asked.  
"It is." Tenchi replied with a downcast face.  
"Its also illegal on Jurai." Aeka said sadly.  
"That is not entirely true." Tenchi replied. "But before I explain, I need to hear this  
from each of you. Do you love me?"  
"Lord Tenchi, you know that I love you very much or I would not be here right now." Aeka  
said looking into his eyes. Tears were welling up in her eyes.  
"I watched you grow up as a child playing outside my cave since you were only five years  
old, and then I knew I would love you forever. I'll never stop being in love with you." Ryoko  
said with tears streaming down her face.  
"I was so afraid that you two would hate me for this." he said.  
The two women reacted with shocked expressions. "We could never hate you!" they said in unison.  
The mood was making tears form in his own eyes as Tenchi watched the two women who meant  
so much to him pour their hearts out to him. The atmosphere of love to so strong that room  
that if it were a physical force it would have pushed out the walls of the shrine. They hugged  
each other and uncontrollable sobbs came forth from the two women. Tenchi held them close  
unwilling to let either of them go or risk losing one of them forever. He felt whole with  
both of them there, they were a part of his heart that he would not, could not ever part with.  
"Please don't cry." he pleaded with them.  
"I don't know whether to be overjoyed or sad." Ryoko cried.  
"You said you wanted to explain something. What is it, Lord Tenchi?" Aeka ask wiping the  
tears from her eyes.  
"I've been studying Juraian culture and law for a while. I discovered soemthing that  
might make it possible for all of us to be together." he said.  
"How?" Ryoko asked him.  
"Have you ever heard of something called the Great Bond?" he asked.  
  
Elsewhere in another reality...  
  
Prince Orrin was running as fast has his power-armor would take him. Behind him the  
Imperium weapons cache was a pillar of flames and explosions. Dozens of mechanized units were  
on his tail firing white hot streaks of plasma energy at him. In a conceiled pocket he  
carried a small data crystal stolen from the computer center. On this crystal was all the  
evidence he needed to stop the Imperium in their tracks and force them out of the Galactic  
Council. That was the first step, but the next was much more serious. There was a larger  
picture here.  
Orrin's hobby of archeology lead him to the study of the vansihed Elo'quin Empire. The  
race once ruled most of galaxy and the ruins of their once great civilization liter thousands  
of planets in the Galactic Federation. The reason for the fall of the Elo'quin was a subject  
of much debate in the halls of higher learning, and Orrin found this all very fascinating. He  
dedicated his free time to study the ancient race and their ways. This lead him to a discovery  
that would change his life forever. In an ancient library left by the Elo'quin on his home-  
world Orrin learned one of the greatest secrets of these people. The Elo'quin found scientific  
proof for the existance of magic, and they learned how to combine magic and technology into a   
new science called Etherealology.  
The discipilines of Etherealology took up much of his studies over several hundred years  
of his life. As a scientist himself he tackled the task of decyphering the ancient language of  
the race and the mysteries of this science. Before long he managed to create several inventions based on Etherealology. The first was the power-armor he was wearing at that moment, and the second was the ship that was racing towards him in the sky. The ship was sleek and resembled some great sea creatures from some alien ocean. It was not a very large ship and appeared as if it might hold a crew of perhaps only six people. Inside, a subspace pocket made the interior of the ship larger than the outside. The vessel swooped down from the sky and Orrin felt the telltale effects of a tranporter grabbing onto him. With a flash of bright light he was suddenly whisked away from the landscape of the barren planetoid and was planted  
on the bridge of his ship.  
The bridge was a large ovoid room that seemed featureless and smooth. There were no  
control panels on the walls or any devices anywhere. In the center of the room was a floating  
seat which he mounted quickly and a translucent control panel sprang up to life before him.  
"Kryton! Get us out of here!" he shouted.  
-- Acknowledge, mi'lord. --  
The sleek ship swooped up from the ground leaving dust in his wake and dodge around  
several plasma blasts from the grounds. The ship eccelerated until it was traveling several  
hundred time the speed of sound. Before long it broke free of the atmosphere and began to use  
the gravity of the planetoid to sling-shot it out of the solar system. Several billboard  
sized holodisplays sprang up on the bridge showing the scene outside the ship. The surface of  
the planetoid was racing away under ship when three small pinpoints of light appeared.  
-- Sire, we have three fighters coming up from the planet. --  
"Prepare to engage spacefold back to Setari space." Orrin ordered.  
-- Calculating for jump now. Raising shields. I detect ten more fighters. --  
"Damn!" Orrin breathed.  
-- Sire, on the planet! I am detecting an enourmous ethereal energy signature! --  
"What? Where is it?" Orrin demanded.  
-- It appears to be coming from the weapons cache you sabatoged. --  
"The Imperium knows nothing about Etherealology." Orrin said.  
-- I am detecting a strong ethereal signature, there is no doubt. --  
"If this is true then we have alot of worry about." Orrin replied.  
  
Suddenly, from the surface of the planet there came a massive flash of white light. The  
holodisplays on the bridge of the Kryton flared for a second and then returned to normal. The  
scene was horrific as a massive shockwave raced across the surface of the planetoid destroying  
everything in its path. The shockwave was racing as fast as the ship itself was travelling.  
Soon the entire surface of the planetoid was completely obliterated. Through holes in the  
thick black clouds that now encircled the globe Orrin could see the surface was molten  
red and glowing.  
-- I am detecting quantum distortions in space-time. We are in serious trouble! --  
"What was that thing?" Orrin asked his ship.  
-- Unknown, but it is the source of the quantum distortions. --  
"Give me helm control." Orrin ordered.  
Orrin's hands flew across the holopanel in front of him as he control of the Kryton.  
The ship built using Etherealology discipilines and Setari technology race away from the  
planetoid at full speed. The surface of the planet began to glow brighter and brighter as time  
went by until the dark clouds were boiled away and the sphere shown as bright as a sun. The  
Kryton was thrown about like a leaf in a hurricane by tremendous quantum forces. It was all  
Orrin could do to keep the ship on course.  
"How are those jump calculations going?" he said the ship.  
-- Done. However, engaging space fold within these distortions may produce unpredictable  
results. --  
"If we don't get out of here, I predict we will shake apart!" Orrin yelled over the  
sound of the ship shuttering as the shaking became more violent.  
-- I see, and feel your point, sire! Engaging space fold in three, two, one... --  
The spacefold system on the ship that allowed the Kryton to traverse vast distances of  
space in seconds sprang to life. A sphere of energy surrounded the ship as the veseele  
prepared to fold space, but suddenly the sphere became change shape and morph in places. An  
alarm went off inside the ship and Orrin was nearly thrown around the bridge like a single  
piece of dice in a cup.  
-- Its as I feared! The fold system is forming a Quantium Rift! --  
"Disengage space fold!" Orrin yelled holding onto his seat.  
-- Its too late! --  
The sphere around the Kryton suddenly errupted with a flash and the maw of a swirling  
quantum rift formed around it. The ship plunged into its depths before Orrin could correct  
the ship and escape its gravity. The Kryton, using Etherealology, could easily survive an  
encounter with a black hole, but they were too close this time. Orrin was violently thrown  
from seat and fell into blissful unconsciousness when his is head slammed into the deck.  
  
Back in a more familiar reality...  
  
Washu sat on her floating cousion with her head slumped forwards. She was snoring and  
having a dream about the day she created Ryoko. She was picking up the little child out of the  
creation chamber and she hugged her as if she had given birth to her herself. She was happy  
finally to have completed this masterwork and realized that she wouldn't be alone anymore. She  
didn't have her real child, but she could have the next best thing in Ryoko.  
The scientist woke with a start at the sound of alarm. She looked at her holopanels and  
gasped at what she saw. For the past day she had been tracking a strange anomily near the  
orbit of Earth's moon. The anomily had stronge quantum signatures, and it was jamming some of  
her instruments. She was monitoring it and set the alarm to go off if anything major took  
place while she slept. What she saw on the screen was a major event indeed. The quantum  
anomily had errupted into a full blown quantum rift...a gateway from one dimension to another.  
What made it worse was that the rift was unstable and was fluxuating erraticly. The tidal  
forces of the rift was starting to effect the orbit on Earth's moon. This was very bad.  
"Keep recording this, and I want a schematic of that rift pronto!" she ordered the  
computer.  
Robot Washu A and B suddenly popped up at that moment singing the praises of the great  
genius. "You can do it Washu! Your the greatest Washu! Your a genius Washu!"  
"That is so true." she smiled.  
  
Tenchi sat alone in the shrine flipping Washu's little black box around in his hands. He  
looked up at the door that lead outside and wondered what the two women were thinking about.  
After his explanation of what he had in mind, Aeka and Ryoko were completely stunned. Aeka was  
somewhat familiar with the Great Bond because it was how her father married her mother and  
Fonaho. Only a member of the Jurai royal family could legally initiate the Great Bond under  
the law, but not all parties of the bond had to be. It was the fact that he wanted to bond  
with them both that stuneed her. Did he realize just how powerful this bond weould be?  
The two women decided to go outside to consider Tenchi's request. They both stood  
outside the door to the shrine and looked into the night sky. They looked at each other and  
wondered what life living with each other for the rest of their lives would be like. The bond  
would mean no more fighting for Tenchi because he would belong to both of them. It meant no  
more barriers, no restrictions. The Great Bond was more than a sharing of thoughts and  
memories. You actually almost become one with the person to whom you are bonding. It was not  
quite like the bond that Sasami and Tsunami shared, but it was the next best thing. One thing  
was for certain, they would both get what they wanted and that was Tenchi's love and  
affection for the rest of natural lives.  
"Its an interesting idea, isn't it?" Aeka asked Ryoko.  
"He cares about us this much." Ryoko said.  
"He has always been a caring person." Aeka observed.  
"He's the best thing that ever happened to us." Ryoko said.  
Aeka turned to her mortal enemy and looked into her yellow, catlike eyes. "Ryoko, I have  
been mean and cruel to you for the past few years. But, I will be willing to set that all  
aside if you will."  
Ryoko looked away for a moment and then looked back up at the Princess of Jurai. "I  
came too far to let him go now, princess." she said with tears in her eyes..  
Aeka nodded. "We've decided then."  
Ryoko nodded back.  
"Let us lay down some ground rules first, Miss Ryoko." Aeka said, raising a finger. "There will be absolutely no Trios."  
"Fine by me, but he might like that." Ryoko said in a sly voice.  
"You really are impossible." Aeka snorted.  
"Actually, I have to admit something. I'm still a virgin." Ryoko said in a whisper.  
Aeka's eyes widened in shock. "But, from all that boasting and your behavior with  
Lord Tenchi..."  
"Was all show. I've never been with a man before. I guess that sort of thing is just  
expected from a person like me." she said.  
"I am surprised at this, Ryoko." Aeka said.  
"Why? Is it because I'm not the 'whore' you thought I was." Ryoko snapped.  
"No. It is because you are a more volunerable woman than I previous thought you were."  
she said.  
"You are a much nicer person than I realized before." Ryoko told her.  
"We'll both know each other a little better in a few minutes." Aeka said.  
"How so?" asked Ryoko.  
"When we form the bond we will relive each other's memories." she said.  
  
The two women slid open the door to the shrine and walked back in. Tenchi stood up and  
waited for them to speak. They all stood their for a few moments in total silence. Finally,  
both Aeka and Ryoko fell upon him with their arms around him with tears of joy running their  
faces. He held them both in his arms and kissed each one gently on the lips. Their  
kisses were like the caress of fine silk and he felt himself melting at their touch. This  
contact seemed to go on for an eternity, but soon they parted and looked at each other.  
"Tenchi, I'll do anything you ask. I love you." Aeka cried.  
"You know I could never deny you, Tenchi." Ryoko cried.  
"You have made me so happy." he said with tears in his eyes.  
"If you are happy, we are happy, Lord Tenchi." Aeka told him.  
"We'll all be happy...together." Ryoko said.  
  
In her subspace lab in Tenchi's broom closet, Washu monitored the quantum rift with  
great interest and worry. The tidal forces of the rift would not effect the orbit of the moon  
too adversely for at least six days. After that time the orbit of the moon will either shift  
one of two ways. One, it could shift enough to fall into the gravity well of the Earth and  
eventually slam into it. That impact would effectly wipe out all life on the plaent! Or, two,   
the moon would shift away from the Earth and go sling shotting into space. The effect on the   
gravitational field of Earth would be like a rubberhand springing back on itself. The forces   
would cause catastrophic earthquakes, floods, tidal waves, and freak storms that could result   
in millions of deaths and damage in the value of hundreds of billions. Both prospects where   
not good at all.  
As she watched the swirling maw of the rift her quick eyes noticed something strange. It  
looked like something was coming out of the rift. "Magnify region 20.34.50 mark 8." she said.  
The computer acknowledged with a beep and the area she wanted as magnifed on her holoscreen  
in front of her. The object appeared to be some kind of space craft. It looked almost  
organic like the wooden starships of the Jurai but this one was made of metal. It remineded  
her of a stange looking fish or some sort of alien shark. Was as also strange was the bizare  
energy signature it was giving off. If she didn't know any better she would say the frequency  
was similar to the one given off my Ryoko's gems, but was just slightly off. The ship was  
tumbling, drifting in space when I emerged from the rift. Suddenly, the ship righted itself  
and started on a course straight for Earth.  
Uh, ho, she thought.  
"Track that ship, I want to know exactly where it lands." she continued.  
The vessel increased speed and plunged into the planet's atmosphere for a reentry  
burn. Soon its course would bring it into a low orbit  
"Tenchi, I hope you finish what you need to do quickly because we're about to have some  
guests." she breathed.  
____________________  
End of Chapter One...  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic please send me an email to zorch@the-zorch.com, subject line  
"TM Fan Fic". Stay tuned for the next installment with Chapters 2: The Great Bond, and  
Chapter 3: The Visitor. 


	2. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Chap...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Previously in our story...  
  
Tenchi was faced with an unbelievable dilema, he was madly in love with two women at the  
same time. Faced with this problem he finds a way out that may bring them all happiness. At  
the same time Washu discovers something in Earth orbit that could threaten the existance of  
all life on the planet. When we last left the Masaki family Washu was watching a strange  
space craft that emerged from a quantum rift head towards earth. Meanwhile, Tenchi, Ryoko,  
and Aeka prepared to join in the Great Bond which will change their relationship forever...  
__________  
Chapter 2: The Great Bond  
  
Three figures huddled together in the main room of the Masaki family shrine, each looked  
at one another expectantly. They were Tenchi Masaki, grandson to Yosho and first prince of the  
Juraian Empire, Aeka, first princess of Jurai, and Ryoko, the most feared space pirate in the  
known universe. The two women looked at Tenchi with unconditional love in their eyes, and he  
looked back at them with love, kindness, and devotion. In his hands he held the smalll black  
box that Washu had given him, the five gemstones on one side of the box were glowing witn an  
inner light. They had just finished a long embrass and a shared kiss and were now sitting  
and waiting for him to make the first move. Aeak was the first to break the silence.  
"To make the Great Bond, we need a Jurai tree." Aeka said.  
"We don't have one here, do we?" Ryoko asked.  
"Yosho's tree, but its too weak. Ryouhl is here but he is too young and not strong  
enough yet." Aeka   
"We might not need one." Tenchi said as he held up Washu's box.  
"Is that one of mo-om's little toys?" Ryoko asked incredulously.  
"I told her what I had planned and she said this would serve the same purpose." he  
replied.  
"What did she say when you told her?" Aeka asked.  
"To be careful, and good luck." he said.  
Tenchi explained the workings of the device, or as much as he understood from Washu's  
explaination. Both women paid attention to every word he said because this was so imprortant  
to him and their future together. When he was finished, Tenchi laid the black box on the floor  
in front of him.  
"It will create the link for us?" Aeka asked.  
"That is what Washu said." Tenchi said.  
"I don't know if I like having one of mother's little gadgets poking around in my head."  
Ryoko said.  
"She assured me it was safe. Tenchi replied.  
"So, it will start the bond with you first, me seconds, and then Ryoko third." Aeka  
said.  
"Yes, and once the bond is formed it will break its link and we will take over." Tenchi  
told them.  
"And, we will actually re-live each other's memories?" Ryoko asked.  
"We will be observers in some, and in other we will experience them." Aeka said.  
"Are you sure you two want to do this? Once we bond there is no way to reverse it."  
Tenchi said.  
"We are very sure, Lord Tenchi. We love you." Aeka said.  
"Alright then, here we go." he said.  
  
The gemstones on Washu's black box were arranged in a circle of four surrounding the  
fifth stone. Each of the stones was a different color, and they were all glowing with an  
inner light. Tenchi touched the center stone and four outer stones flared to life. A single  
straight beam of light like laser lanced out and touched Tenchi's forehead. He sat lotus style  
on the floor of the shrine and did not move. Two other beams lanced out one after the other  
to Aeka's forehead and then to Ryoko's forehead. They all sat there motionless for a short  
moment before the world around them faded into white light....  
  
Tenchi stood in a field of strange alien blossoms and felt the warm breeze of planet  
Jurai brush has face. In the field in front of him two small figures ran and romped through  
the flowers giggling. There were flashed is tiny legs, purple hair, and cyran hair among the  
multicolor flowers. Before long, two tiny little girls now older than perhaps six years old  
collapsed on the ground. The two giggled furiously. Little Ryoko sat up at that moment and  
help out her hand to little Aeka. In her tiny grasp was a wreath of flowers that she had made  
with her own two little hands.  
"This is you, its your crown." little Ryoko said.  
"Oh, is sooo pretty." little Aeka said putting it on.  
"You look pretty with it on." little Ryoko told her.  
"Do I look like a real princess, now." little Aeka said taking a regal pose.  
Little Ryoko giggled, and was soon joined by the companion.  
"Do you think I'll ever be a bride, Aeka." little Ryoko asked her.  
"Someday when you grow up." the little princess replied.  
"When I grow up, I'll marry a prince and we'll live happily ever after." little Ryoko  
said with a wide grin.  
"Me too." sighed little Aeka.  
  
Swirling light, faded voices, and half remembered dreams abound...  
  
Aeka was crying again on the balcony overlooking the Royal Gardens on Jurai, but it was  
Ryoko who looked through her eyes. Prince Yosho, young and hansome, soon behind her rubbing  
her arms tenderly. He wanted to grab her and hold her, but there was so much at stake.   
"Why must you leave me!" she cried, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.  
"I have to stop her, she isn't in control of her mind." Yosho said.  
"How could she do this, she's become a monster!" Aeka spat.  
"Blame Kagato for what has happened. I only prey that when I find Ryoko that there is  
perhaps a little bit of her left inside her mind." he said.  
"Promise me you will return to me." she said turning around to him.  
Yosho leaned forward and kissed his fiance and half-sister passionately.  
"I promise, my sweet Aeka." he said as he wiped away her tears.  
  
Swirling light, faded voices, and visions of friends long gone...  
  
"Tenchi, come here." said a weak voice.  
Aeka and Ryoko stood like phantoms in the bedroom that would later be Aeka and Sasami's  
bedroom in the Masaki house. Laying in a bed was Achika, Tenchi's mother, and standing next to  
the bed as a young five year old Tenchi Masaki. The child had been crying and he slowly  
walked into his mother's waiting arms.  
"Mommy has to go away from you now. I am going somewhere where I won't be sick anymore."  
she said.  
"Will I see you again, mommy?" little Tenchi asked with tear filled eyes.  
"I pray someday, my little Tenchi." she said kissing his cheek.  
"Can I come and visit you?" he asked her.  
Achika could hardly hold back the tears. She wiped her eyes before speaking again.  
"No, but I will alway be with you...in here." she said touching his forehead.  
She placed a hand over his heart. "And, I will be in here. Alwauys."  
"I'm going to miss you mommy." little Tenchi cried.  
"I will miss you too, little one." she replied.  
Achika cradled little Tenchi in her arms and rocked her little boy side to side. She  
ran her fingers through his short black hair and started to sing to him. Her voice was like  
the sound of a summer rain, soft and soothing. Aeka and Ryoko felt tears running down their  
phantom faces and knew this was Tenchi's last memory of his mother before she passed way. The  
sound of her voice was haunting as the vision of the memory began to fade away....  
  
Hush little baby, don't say a word  
  
Mommy's going to buy you a mocking bird  
  
and if that mocking bird won't sing  
  
Mommy's gong to buy you a diamond ring...  
  
Swirling light, faded voices, and memories best forgotten...  
  
Aeka was cold, very cold, and very weak. She rested beneith the water that pooled in the  
floor of Ryoko's cave prison. It was dark, so dark. She felt the lonliness, the infinite  
lonliness of her captivity. Insanity threatened to strnagled her mind day after day, weeks  
became, months, months became years, and years became centuries. Then, he came. A little  
child and his mother was romping around outside the cave. Aeka sent her presence to the   
entrance just inside the seal that imprisoned her and she watched him. He was so cute, he was  
the only living thing she had ever seen in so long. He was beautiful. The tiny boy, no more  
than two or three was laughing and playing. He chased after tiny winged insects with large  
colorful wings...butterflies they were called.  
Time passed and the child grew older and older, and one day he stopped coming to the  
cave entrance. Years of lonliness passed by again and Aeka thought we would never see that  
wonderful little boy again. She vowed that if she were to ever escape from here that she  
would love him forever.  
There was a noise. Yes, there was sound, in her cave. It was the first sound she had  
heard in centuries. A light appeared at the top of the tunnel that lead to her chamber. A  
single figure came sliding down the tunnel and landed with a thud. In his hands he carried  
the sword, the Tenchi-ken, the sword that Yosho had used to free her from Kagato's control  
and steal the power of her gems.  
It was him, she knew it...it was the boy, but now he was a man. Such a hansome young  
man. She gathered enough strength to lift herself out of the water before him and grasp his  
hand. She reached up and touched his face. He was so warm, and it was the first time in   
countless centuries that she felt the warmth of any living thing. She loved him, her savior,  
and she would forever be his. She swore it.  
  
Swirling light, faded voices, and scenes that tugged at the heart...  
  
Ryoko watched as Tenchi and Aeka lay in the grass. Their first date, when he started  
dating them, was to take the princess on a picnic in the forest. Tenchi had his eyes closed as  
he lay there next to Aeka, and he felt the warmth of the sun on his face. He opened his eyes  
as Aeka leaned up next to him and kissed him. He melted into her kiss and it seemed as if it  
last forever. His arms found their way around her waist and he didn't want to let her go. A  
powerful desire for her welled up in him, but it took all of his strength to resist. She had  
been unbuttoning his shirt when he stopped her and looked into her eyes.  
"I-I can't..." he said.  
"Is it because, because of Ryoko?" she asked him.  
"Yes, but also because I'm not ready to take that step yet. Although, deep inside I  
have to admit that I do want to." he admitted to her.  
"Do you love her?" she asked him, a sadness forming in her eyes.  
"I care for you both. Please, don't force me to choose between you, yet." he pleaded.  
"I waited this long." she said putting her arms around him and cradling his head.  
"Just let me hold you, I want to feel you next to me." she sighed.  
  
Swirling light, faded voices, and a feeling of love that aways was...  
  
The waves of the beach rolled in and the smell of the salty sea wafted on the wind.  
Aeka stood near where Tenchi and Ryoko sat on their first date together. The space pirate was  
in a two piece swimsuit that left little to the imagination and everytime Tenchi looked at her  
he seemed to blush furiously.  
"Do you want to go swimming, Tenchi." she asked him.  
"Sure." he said.  
Hand in hand the two walked out into the surf and started swimming out into deeper  
water. Tenchi was paddling along when he noticed that Ryoko was missing. He called her name  
but she was nowhere to be found. Slowly, she emerged from the water behind him and tapped him  
on the shoulder.  
"Tenchi, would you kiss me? You never kissed me before." she asked.  
Tenchi blushed and swam over to her. "It wouldn't hurt, I guess." he said more to  
himself than to Ryoko.  
Tenchi accepted her embrass and they two met in a kiss. Her lips were as soft was the  
finest silk and her touch was warm and inviting. He felt as if he would stay like this  
forever. Slowly, he found himself kissing her down her neck, and Ryoko was shivering at the  
touch of his lips her on skin. She was starting to untie the knottt that held the top of her  
swinsuit on when he realized what it was he was doing and pulled away.  
"Ryoko, I can't do this." he said.  
"What's wrong?" she asked him.  
"Its not right, its not fair to Aeka." he said.  
"You love her then." she said, almost pouting.  
"I care for both of you. Its just I am not ready to take things this far yet." he told  
her.  
"I'm sorry, this is my fault." she said.  
"No, its not. Its me. But, I have to admit to you that if I didn't stop myself I..."  
he tried to say but she put a finger to lips.  
"As much as I wanted you to, I couldn't live myself if I allows you to do something we  
might both have regretted." she said.  
"Thank you for understanding." he said.  
"Its because I love you." she said before kissing him.  
  
White light faded into the familiar surroundings of the Masaki shrine. Tenchi found  
himself on the floor and he felt so weak. To his surprise both Aeke and Ryoko were there and  
they together helped him to his feet. In his mind he could feel them, their love radiating  
strengh to him, and between them he felt, not love, but a new understanding and respect. He  
looked at them for a moment, his legs were weak, and he leaned heavily on their arms. In turn  
the two women kissed him on the lips and they held each other. The power of the bond filled  
him with joy, and he felt strengh flowing back into his body from their love.   
-- I love you. -- he thought to them.  
-- We love you, too. -- they thought back in reply.  
-- This will take some getting used to. -- Ryoko thought.  
-- Don't you have a link with your mother? -- Aeka thought the question.  
-- Its just telepathic, but this is totally different. -- Ryoko thought.  
-- I see you standing there, but I can feel you inside of me. -- Tenchi thought.  
-- A little bit of ourselves is now a part of each other. -- Aeka thought.  
-- I like this feeling. -- he thought and held them tighter.  
-- So do I. -- Ryoko thought.  
-- How will Sasami, dad, and grandpa take this?" he thought to them.  
-- We will need to take this a day at a time, Lord Tenchi. -- Aeka thought back.  
-- I can just imagine what your dad will think. -- Ryoko thought.  
Tenchi chuckled as a image of his dad running from the girls in horror entered his mind.  
It was the day he tried to sneak a camera into the onsen when they were bathing.  
-- My dad can act like a pervert sometimes, but he wasn't always like that. -- he  
thought.  
--Thank goodness. -- Aeka thought and rolled her eyes.  
Tenchi looked at his watch and was surprised to see that three hours had gone by. "Its  
late we'd better get home." he said.  
"Can we stay with you tonight." Aeka asked.  
"Nothing...dirty or anything, just all of us together." Ryoko added.  
"I would like that." he said, and he kissed them again.  
  
The three returned to the house and quietly made their way upstairs. Tenchi opened the  
door to his bedroom for his two...wives...and walked in after them. They all layed down on the  
bed together, Aeka on one side, and Ryoko on the other. He hold him and they laid their heads  
on his shoulders. They felt the warmth of each other's love roll over them, and then slowly  
drifted off to blissful sleep.  
  
Washu watched the three enter the house and sighed. She could feel from her telepathic  
link with her daughter that they did indeed make the bond. -Tenchi, I hope you know what your  
doing.- She looked up into the night sky and tried to see if she could spot the first sign of  
the alien space craft that was coming down. She tracked it making low orbits over the surface  
of the planet as if scanning for something. It was then that she activated her signal beacon  
and the ship changed its course for their region of Japan. Now all she had to do was wait for  
it to show up...and then what?  
The air was still with only a slight breeze, and this kept the night air from being too  
cold. Washu continued to search the sky when suddenly the wind began to pick up. A low  
humming noise filled the air behind her. She wirled around to see the space craft from the  
quantum rift slowly drifting down into the forest beyond the lake. The ship had been very  
silent and didn't appear to have any means of rocket-like thrust what so ever. Washu put her  
hands out and summoned her holopad. The strange energy signature coming from the ship was  
still uncannily similar to that belonging to Ryoko's gems. -If her gems are magic, then that  
must mean....-  
  
Kryton scanned the forest and surrounding area very careful. This region was not very  
densly populated which would mena his landing would not go noticed. The ion beacon that he  
had locked onto was at this location. There was dwelling on the otherside of the lake of  
water. Ever since he has emerged from the quantum rift he had been searching for anything  
that denoted advanced technology. That beacon signal was the first he detected on the entire  
plaent since his arrival.  
Prince Orrin was gravely injured during the passage through the rift. He had been  
violently thrown about the bridge and this resulted in multiple broken bones and a fractured  
skull. Kryton himself has not made the passage unharmed either, and unfortunately one of the  
systems effected was the regeneration tank in the med lab. All that was keeping Orrin alive  
now was a statis chamber.  
After landing, a mass of material began to form on the ceiling of the bridge into a large  
grep droplet like water. The droplet fell to the desk below and started to take on a different  
shape. Slowly, the grey mass started to take on humanoid form. Soon, a five foot tall, grey  
humanoid stood on the bridge. His face was human like except for his slightly pushed in nose  
and his ears ran flat up against his head. Kryton looked at himself in his new form and   
nodded. "This avitar have to do, I guess." he said out loud.  
His shipside sensors detected the presence of a few lifeforms nearby. They were all  
humanoid lifeforms, and one of them appeared to possess an ethereal signature. One was an   
inorganic life form, and one appeared to perhaps be a child. Altogether he was detecting  
a total of nine life forms. All but one of the life forms were in a primitive dwelling that  
was built near the lake. The one humanoid had an odd energy signature that was almost like  
an ethereal signature but was just slightly off. It was also a female from what he could  
tell. She was walked through the forest of trees and was heading for where he landed. She  
appeared to be the source of the beacon signal.  
Kryton talked across the deck and phased through the hull. He emerged outside his space  
craft self and looked around. The winter season was coming to this region of the planet and  
the air was a brisk 35 degreees. Kryton did not feel discomfort from the cold since he was  
just a machine, but his mind was very much a little thing.   
His sharp eyes spotted the lifeform as it approached the landing sight. She was human-  
oid with long, spiked red hair. Stood no taller than his avitar did and she appeared to no  
more than perhaps 12 years old. Her unusual energy signature grew stronger as she walked up  
to him without showing any sign of fear or surprise. He looked at her for a moment wondering  
what she would do next, but before he could say anything she spoke up first.  
"Hello, welcome to Earth." she smiled at him.  
-Earth. That name is in my databanks somewhere.-  
"Thankyou. My name is Kryton, what is yours?" he asked her.  
"I'm Washu, but you can called me Little Washu." she said.  
"Tell me, do you possess any medical facilities nearby, Little Washu." he asked.  
"In my lab. Do you have wounded on board?" she asked with concern.  
"There is only one person onboard, and he is severly injured." he replied.  
-Better not tell her who he is. Don't know if I trust her or not.-  
"I have a cellular generation tank in my lab." she said.  
-Thank the gods! Someone with descent technology.-  
"We haven't much time, please take us there." he said.  
With that the stasis chamber that held Orrin phased through the hull of the ship and landed on the ground next to them. Washu looked inside and almost gasped him shock. It was   
not the extent of his injuries that caused her to gasp. It was the fact that this man, who she   
knew was not him, looked exactly like her husband who left her over 20,000 years ago. Kryton   
as not certain why she reacted this way but though it might be out of concern for his master's  
severe injuries. Washu lead Kryton to the house as he pushed Orrin's floating stasis chamber  
behind her.  
__________  
Chapter 3 - The Visitor  
  
The light of the morning sun shown on Sasami's face and its warmth woke her up. She  
looked over to her sister's bed and was surprise to find it empty. In fact, it had never been  
slept in. She climbed out of bed and remembered the love letter from Tenchi that Aeka found  
last night. She decided to try and make a very nice breakfast for them all today because this  
was going to be a very emotional day. She could just imagine Ryoko's reaction to Tenchi  
informing the family of his decision. A fight could break out between Aeka and Ryoko over him,  
but she was not sure what would happen. She quietly dressed. Ryu-Ohki woke up and streched  
on her bed. She was in her cabbit form and yawned a great yawn.  
"Good morning, Ryu-Ohki." Sasami said.  
"Miya, miya." Ryu-Ohki meowed back.  
"Wanna help me in the kitchen?" she asked the cabbit.  
"Miyya!" Ryu-Ohki meowed as she leapt up onto Sasami's head.  
"Thanks."  
  
Downstairs Noboyuki and Khyone were already awake. They were sitting on the couch  
talking about the weather while a weather news report was displayed on the television. The  
anchorman suddenly appeared on the screen with the message "late breaking news" flying across  
the screen.  
  
"This just in! Air Force radar this morning at about 3am detected an unidentified flying  
object over Japan. Sources say it was moving at an incredible speed and it dropped off radar  
some fifty miles south of Tokyo. There have been no eyewitness sightings of the supposed UFO  
but we will keep our eyes on this story and keep you posted with all late breaking updates."  
  
"I wonder what that is all about?" Noboyuki said.  
"Mihoshi and I better look into this later." Khyone said.  
"Could there be danger." he asked her.  
"I don't know, but we can't be too careful." she said.  
"Good morning, Noboyuki. Khyone." Sasami said.  
"Good morning to you, Sasami. Your looking lovelier than usual this morning." Noboyuki  
said.  
Sasami giggled and blushed at the compliment. "Oh stop that! Your making me blush."  
"Sasami, did you hear anything unusual last night?" Khyone asked.  
"No, why?" Sasami replied.  
"It might be nothing." she said.  
"Ok. I'll be in the kitchen getting breakfast ready." Sasami called behind her.  
  
Ryoko was the first one to wake up. She sighed when she felt Tenchi's arms around her  
waist and knew for certain that the night before had not been a dream. She looked up at his  
face which was a mask of serenity as he slept. Aeka lay on the other side in the same position  
and was still out like a light. In her mind she saw flashes of images and tidbits of sound  
from their dreams. The bond was present even during sleep. She slowly climbed out of bed as  
not to wake them and phased down through the floor into the living room. Tenchi's father and  
Khyone were sitting on the couch watching TV. The sound of pots and pans in the kitchen told  
her that Sasami was up and working on breakfast.  
-- Don't say anything. Wait until we all get together for breakfast. -- she heard  
Tenchi's thoughts.  
-- My lips are sealed. -- she thought back.  
-- Good girl. -- he thought in reply.  
  
Tenchi had not even moved from his position and didn't want to disturb Aeka from her  
sleep. She looked so beautiful as she lay there in his arms. Before he could ease her down to the bed she opened her eyes and looked up into his. Her lavender eyes denoted pure joy at the  
sight of his face. She smiled up at him and rested her head back down on his shoulder as she  
adsently rubbed her hand down her chest.  
-- Good morning. -- she thought.  
-- Did I wake you? -- he thought.  
-- No. But, I would not have minded it. -- she though in reply.  
She turned her face up and accepted his kiss, then they climbed out of bed. They walked  
down the stairs one after the other and tried not to act out of the ordinary so they would not  
give too much away. Ryoko even took up her customary postion behind him and rapped her arms  
around him.  
"Good morning, Tenchi." she whispered into his ear.  
"Ryoko, Lord Tenchi only just woke up. Must you?" Aeka scolded her.  
-- Keep up appearances. -- Aeka thought to her.  
-- This will be fun. -- Ryoko thought.  
"Come now, princess. Afraid you can't compete with my charm and beauty." Ryoko said.  
-- Good one. -- Aeka thought.  
"What? I am ten times the women you are!" she exclaimed.  
"At least I'm not flat chested!" Ryoko shot back.  
-- Hey now? -- Aeka thought loudly.  
-- Sorry. -- Ryoko thought back.  
"How dare you degrade me like this in front of Lord Tenchi!" Aeka shouted.  
"I hardly have to, you do a perfect job of that yourself!" Ryoko shouted.  
-- Not bad. Try this one. -- Aeka thought with a laugh.  
"Lord Tenchi would never fall in love with a she-devil like you!" Aeka shouted.  
"Those sound like fighting words." Ryoko said as she took a combat stance.  
"Grrrr." Aeka growled in her own stance.  
"Grrrr." Ryoko growled back with sparks flying from her eyes.  
-- You two are enjoying this way too much. -- Tenchi thought to them.  
-- Does this mean we get one those Academy Awards? -- thought Aeka jokingly.  
"Oh, please don't fight you two!" Mihoshi cried as she ran up between them.  
"OK." the two said suddenly. Mihoshi and Tenchi hit the floor totally stunned.  
In their minds the two women giggled like school girls.  
-- I've created a pair of monsters. -- Tenchi thought.  
  
Kryton walked around the spacious subspace lab that Washu created and was recording  
everything he saw. This was the most impressive show of advanced technology and understanding  
of advanced quantum mechanics he had ever seen second only to Etherealology. Washu had given  
him the tour of the facilities after depositing Orrin in the regeneration tank so his wounds  
could be mended. Washu commented that Kryton had gotten him into the stasis chamber just in  
time becasue the wounds he suffered were very serious. The regeneration tank would sustain him  
and regenerate his injuries, but it would take nearly a day to do so.  
Washu heard a knock at her door and Tenchi's voice saying that breakfast was ready.  
"Do you eat, Kryton?" she asked.  
"No, Little Washu. I am a synthetic lifeform and I have no need for food. Thank you  
anyway." he said.  
"Well, join us anyway. The other's might want to meet you." she said.  
"Perhaps I should remain and monitor Lord Orrin's vitals." he said.  
"He'll be fine. Come on." she told him.  
"As you wish, madam." he said giving in.  
  
Everyone at the breakfast table was stunned to see Washu's companion. He was a short,  
humanoid with grey skin that seemed almost metalic. He had no hair, and except for the   
strange nose and flat ears his face appeared almost human. They all noticed that his eyes  
had a stronge golden glow about them. He looked all around the house as if examining   
everthing within sight, which is exactly what he was doing.  
"Who's your pale friend, mom?" Ryoko asked in a whisper.  
"As far as I understand he's a probe." Washu said.  
"An avitar to be exact." Kryton said.  
"Where did you come from?" Sasami asked him.  
"He landed by the lake last night." Washu said.  
"That was your ship radar detected last night." Khyone said.  
"Actuall, I am the ship that landed last night." Kryton replied.  
Everyone but Washu looked at him a bit wide eyed.  
"What your looking at his just an avitar I use to communicate with the outside world."  
Kryton said gesturing to himself. "I am the main computer on the space craft."  
"Wow, that's amazing." Mihoshi said.  
"Ryu-Ohki here is a spaceship too." Sasami said petting the cabbit who was now munching  
away at a carrot.  
"That would explain the strange sensor readings I am getting from her." said Kryton.  
  
Breakfast was nearly finished and everyone was about to go their seperate ways in the  
house. Tenchi felt from his two loves that it was time they told the family about what they  
did. He himself apprehension, but he received the mental equivolent of a hug and kiss from his  
two loves when they felt his distress. He was reassured by their presence and his courage  
climbed a bit. Slowly everyone was starting to get up from the table when he called for them  
to stay.  
"What's up Tenchi?" Khyone asked.  
"I have a little announcement to make." he said.  
"Oh, what would that be?" asked Yosho.  
"I just want you all to please try and stay as calm as possible and try not to freak out  
after I tell you." he said.  
"Well, what is it, son?" asked Noboyuki. His curiosity was getting the better of him.  
Tenchi took a deep breath and he felt Ryoko's hand on his shoulder. The strange way the  
two women were acting now as they sat next to Tenchi was starting to become apparent to the  
rest of them. Aeka reached out and took his hand. Ryoko took his other hand. This get the  
group's attentiion very quickly. Sasami seemed to be the most surprised as she looked at the  
three of them with wide eyes.  
"Go ahead, dear, you can tell them." Aeka whispered.  
"We're here for you." Ryoko also whispered.  
"Tenchi, what is this about?" Yosho asked with concern in his face.  
"Everyone, what I going to tell you is going to be hard for you to understand but you  
must know that I came to this decision on my own." he said.  
After a long pause he spoke again. "Last night Ryoko, Aeka, and myself became husband  
and wives."  
  
Khyone had been taking a sip of her tea, but now it came out in a furious spray when she  
heard Tenchi's words. Everyone else but Washu was looking at the three with immense shock on  
their faces. Sasami looked at Aeka searching for something on her big sister's face that  
might tell her how this could be. She saw the love letter Tenchi wrote her last night. How  
did this happen?  
Noboyuki leaped up from the table and started shacking Tenchi's hand vigorously. Tears  
were streaming down his father's face. "Well done, Tenchi! You've finally become a man! Your  
mother would be so, so, so proud on this day!"  
"You got married?" asked Khyone in a voice that seemed slightly disappointed. "To both  
of them?"  
"Who performed your wedding rites?" Yosho asked with his arms crossed.  
"There were none. We're married through an ancient Juraian ritual called the Great  
Bond." Aeka answered.  
Yosho jumped to his feet and seemed angry for a moment. His fists were clenched for a   
few seconds, but then he relazed. He closed his eyes to compose himself, and then he looked at  
three of them. "Tenchi, why didn't you come to me before doing this?" he asked.  
"I thought you might not approve." Tenchi said.  
"Tenchi, I think both Aeka and Ryoko are both fine choices, but you should have come to  
me first." Yosho replied as he sat back down.  
"I'm sorry, grandpa." Tenchi said.  
"What's the Great Bond?" Noboyuki asked looking at Yosho.  
"Its an ancient ritual of bonding used by the Royal Family of Jurai. The people who bond  
can share thoughts, dreams, and emotions. You become a part of the person with whom you bond,  
and they become a part of you. Its deeper than a simple telepathic link...their souls are now  
one with each other. Under the laws of Jurai they are now married." Yosho answered him.  
"But, the love letter you wrote to Aeka?" Sasami asked looking at Tenchi.  
"I wrote one to Ryoko too." he said.  
"Why both of them?" Khyone asked.  
"I fell in love with both of them and I couldn't bring myself to choose between them  
because I would end up breaking the other person's heart." he said.  
"Wait! How did you accomplish this without a Jurai tree?" asked Yosho.  
It was then at he noticed Washu slowly tiptoeing away from the breakfast table. She   
nearly to the door of her lab when Yosho cleared his throat. She turned to see him looking  
sternly at her.  
"I might have known." he said.  
"He came to me for help, so I gave it to him." she said.  
"And you didn't come to me to let me know." Yosho said.  
"I thought Tenchi would rather keep it a secret until he was ready to let everyone know."  
she replied.  
"Hmpf. I see." Yosho said.  
"Don't be angry at Washu, grandpa. This was all my idea." Tenchi said.  
"So, is this thing like forever or something?" Mihoshi asked.  
"Yes." Ryoko said.  
"How are you going to handle stuff like intimacy?" Noboyuki asked his son.  
Sasami blushed furiously. "Dad! We have a little girl at the table!"  
"Sorry, Sasami." he said.  
"To answer your question, Ryoko and I did come to an agreement on that." Aeka said.  
"It was more like a short talk." Ryoko commented.  
"Either way, there are going to be some changes around here." Tenchi said.  
Khyone sighed and looked at Tenchi. She secretly had a crush on the young man and knew  
she couldn't have stood a chance against Aeka and Ryoko. Tenchi returned her gaze and she saw  
understanding in his eyes. -He knows. How did he know. I never told him how I felt.-  
  
Kryton walked around the Masaki household on a mission to collect as much data as  
possible about his surroundings. His databanks had an infinite storage capacity so he took  
every sight, sound, and smell in. He found something very interesting sitting on the coffee  
table. It was a translucent square shaped object that appeared to be radiating a strange  
energy signature. He picked it up and his hands accidently shifted one side of it as if it  
were some kind of puzzle toy. The square pulsed for a second and suddenly something pink flew  
out of it and landed on his head.  
"I've been looking for those!" Mihoshi said as she grabbed the control cube and pink  
panties from Kryton. "Thank you." she called behind her as she raced off.  
"Your welcome, I think." was all he could say.  
  
It was later that morning that Tenchi went to each of the other women in his life because  
he knew it had to be done. He walked into the living room where Khyone was sitting watching  
TV while everyone else was elsewhere in the house doing their own thing. He sat down next to  
her and he noticed tears in his eyes. "How long did you know?" she asked.  
"For a while now." he said.  
"I never told you how I felt about you." she said.  
"You didn't have to, your eyes betrayed your emotions. Grandpa used to tell me that the  
eyes are windows to the soul." he said.  
"I should have known I couldn't hide anything from you." she replied.  
"I broke your heart, but I hope we can still be friends." he said turning to her.  
"I'd be a pretty shallow person if I let this get in our way of being just friends." she  
said wiping away the tears.  
"I think your a beautiful person. You'll make someone very happy one day." Tenchi said.  
"That means a lot to me coming from you." she said.  
Tenchi reached out and hugged her close. "I'm happy for you, Tenchi." she said.  
"That means a lot to me, coming from you too." he replied.  
  
In her lab Washu went to work on finding a way to close the quanton rift. She dealt  
with these sorts of things before, and she set to work to close it. She typed a sequence into  
her holocomputer and smiled to herself. Several instruments in her lab came to life and   
started humming.  
"That should take care of that." she said.  
Robot Washu A and B popped up on either shoulder suddenly. "Washu is the greatest.  
Washu is a genius. You can do it Washu."  
Slowly the rift began to close. Washu watched the maw diminishing and smiled to herself  
again. "I am good aren't I?"  
Suddenly, alarms began to go off. The humming instruments in her lab began to labor and  
skip. Washu checked her sensors and witnessed the impossible happening in front of her. The  
rift was growing larger, and something was making it happen. It was then that a sudden and   
powerful way of irrational terror filled her mind. Washu screamed and leaped up from her  
floating chair. She ran across her lab in terror away from the image of the rift and hid her-  
self behind one of her machines. She huddled there for while as the fear subsided slowly. She  
never felt terror the way she did a moment ago, and she never failed like this before either.  
Washu looked back at the image of the rift as it returned to its original size and a feeling of  
dread overcame her. "What is wrong with me?"  
  
Kryton was exploring the kitchen with interest. There were all sorts of strange alien  
devices here and all of them seemed to be designed for the perparation of food. He came to sink and turned it on. At least they have plumbing, he thought. It was then at he accidently  
knocked the top of a small bottle into the drain of the sink. Kryton reached his hand down  
into the drain to get it out or risk clogging up the pipes. When he got his fingers around the  
cap he accidently flipped the switch that turned on the grabage disposal. There came a loud  
sickening sound like tin foil being run through a lawn mower.  
Sasami rushed in at the sound and turned it off. It took Kryton a few tries to pull his  
severly crumped hand out of the drain with the cab still held firm.  
"Oh, my God! Are you Ok? Do you need me to get Washu?" she asked him.  
"No, I'll be fine." he said as his hand began to morph back to normal.  
"That was neat! But, be careful next time, ok." she told him as she ran off.  
  
Mihoshi had been sitting in the small greenhouse that Tenchi built that summer for Aeka  
to grow her flowers during the winter, and also for Ryu-Ohki to have fresh carrots too. She  
was looking at all the beautiful blossoms, some were Juraian flowers, and was still amazed by  
what had taken place this morning. She was crying softly to herself because she loved Tenchi  
very much, but had been afraid to show it. She was wasn't afraid that he didn't love her back,  
she was afraid of what Aeka and Ryoko would do to her if they found out how she felt.  
She looked up to Tenchi looking at her in concern. He was worried about the blonde  
Galaxy Policewoman because he sensed a long time ago she like him. Everytime she had a chance  
she was there with her arms around him. She took advantage of certain situations to latch onto  
him innocently, but he felt her fingers soft message him as she held him.  
"Mihoshi." he said.  
"I-I-I'm in love with you Tenchi." she cried.  
"Please don't cry." he said kneeling down beside her.  
"I can't help it." she sobbed.  
Aeka and Ryoko responded to Tenchi's feeling of sadness at that moment and walked up to   
the entrace of the greenhouse. They was him kneeling next to Mihoshi who was sobbing into her  
hands. Both women stopped and just watched. They heard Mihoshi's confession of love for him.  
"I'm sorry I hurt you." he said.  
"Its not your fault, I couldn't possibly have competed with Aeka and Ryoko. They are so  
much prettier than I am." she cried.  
"Don't say that, you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid my eyes on.  
But, I think your real beauty is who you are on the inside." Tenchi told her.  
"Really?" she asked, her tears forgotten now.  
"Yes, and I think that one day you will make some lucky guy very happy." he told her.  
"Oh, Tenchi, that's so sweet!" she exclaimed as she hugged him, squeezing the air out  
of him.  
"Your welcome, Mihoshi." he said gasping for air.  
  
The onsen was an interesting and safe place to explore and collect information, or at  
least that is what Kryton thought. The huge olympic-sized bathing pool was inside another one  
of Washu's subspace pockets. This was a very interesting technique and it is what was used to  
make his internal compartments larger than his outside. He was walking along when his foot hit  
something on the floor. The bar of soap he stepped on went flying across the room and he went  
flying towards the floor. With a thud he landed on his head and rolled over into the water  
with a loud splash.  
Kryton popped his head out of the water and hoped nobody was around to see what just  
happed. If he were capable of it he would have been blushing. This was not one of his better  
days.  
  
Sasami sat in her and Aeka bedroom alone. She was petting Ryu-Ohki who was taking a   
little nap in her lap. She was sniffling and tiny tears were rolling down her eyes. The  
impact of what had happened had hit her worse than any of the other girls. Tenchi knocked on   
the door, which was open, and walked in. Aeka followed after him and she smiled as he sat next  
to the little girl.  
"Why are you crying?" he asked her.  
"I don't know." she said.  
"Is it because of what I told everyone today?" he asked.  
"A little." she admitted.  
"Talk to me, Sasami. Tell me what's in your heart." he pleaded.  
"Oh. Tenchi, I-I-I have a crush on you. Ok." she said blushing.  
"Sasami." Aeka said in surprise.  
"Don't be ashamed." he said.  
Ryoko came to the door in time to hear what Sasami said.  
-- Sasami was in love with Tenchi. Now that explains a few things. -- she thought.  
-- Yes, but how much of it is her and how much of it is Tsunami. -- Aeka thought.  
"I think its the part of me that is shared with Tsunami." Sasami said.  
"I never realized she felt that way about me." Tenchi said in surprise.  
"It started during the battle with Kagato, you know, when you died." she replied.  
"Yes, I met Tsunami then." he said.  
"Aeka, please don't be mad at me." Sasami said when she looked at her sister.  
"Sasami, I could never be angry with you." she replied.  
Tenchi hugged the little girl then and her tears subsided. Ryu-Ohki sat up and meowed  
a question at Ryoko.  
Ryoko blushed furiously all of a sudden.  
"What did she say?" Tenchi asked.  
"She wants to know if this means we're going to have babies in the house again." answered  
Ryoko. The three suddenly shared an a memory of Tenchi's baby cousin flipping Ryu-Ohki around  
by the ears like a rag doll. The three chuckled at the scene.  
Aeka blushed at the idea of having a baby. That was something that she hadn't   
thought about or even discussed with Ryoko and Tenchi.  
"Um. We'll deal with that one when it happens." Tenchi said.  
Sasami's eyes brightened up suddenly. "Oh, Aeka! Does that mean that you might one day  
have a baby?"  
Aeka blushed again even more furiously than before. "Maybe, if Lord Tenchi is willing."  
"Hey, he's married to me too you know!" Ryoko yelled.  
"Lets not have anymore of that. I'm in love with both of you, remember." he said.  
"I think this discussion is best left until we can all be alone." Aeka said.  
"I can't wait to be an aunt one day." Sasami said cheerfully.  
"Tell you what, short stuff. When that time comes we'll all three will make sure your   
the first one to know." Ryoko told her.  
"Oh, thank you. I love all of you." she said.  
"And we love you too." Aeka told her.  
  
"Lord Tenchi." came a voice from the door. It was Kryton.  
"Little Washu wants to see you in her lab, its important." he said.  
"She probably wants more samples." he breathed.  
"I'm afraid she has something very serious to discuss with you, sire." Kryton said.  
"Tell her I'll be down in he minute." Tenchi said with some concern.  
-- Something's wrong. Mom is worried about something. I can feel it. -- Ryoko thought.  
  
Kryton and Tenchi went into Washu's subspace lab together. The red headed genius was  
sitting at her holocomputer typing away. She turned around as they walked in and Tenchi could  
not help but we the worry in her face. No, not worry...fear.  
"Tenchi, I'm so glad you came." she said.  
The scientist ran over to him, put her arms around him. She was physically shivering.  
"What's wrong Washu, this isn't like you." he said.  
"Its because I'm scared, Tenchi. For the first time I am scared to death." she said.  
  
A long time passed as Washu explained the situation of the quantum rift and its effect on  
the moon. She explained in the simpliest way she could what was happening and what was going  
to happen. All the while he see her shacking in fear. What he heard was enough to panic most  
people and he could tell she wasn't telling him everything.  
"How long do we have?" Tenchi asked in a grave voice.  
"The moon's orbit will be shifted enough to make it crash into the Earth in about ten  
days or so." she replied.  
"How long did you know about this?" he asked her turning her to face him.  
"Since last night." she whispered.  
"Why didn't you say something!" he shouted at her.  
"I wanted to double check my readings first." she said.  
"There is more, isn't there. Tell me." he demanded.  
"I-I-I-I can't close the rift! Nothing is working!" she cried.  
"Your the greatest genius in the universe, what do you mean you can't close it?" he asked  
her with great concern.  
Washu buryed her face into Tenchi's chest and started weeping. He has never seen her act  
like this and the sight of the greatest scientific mind in the universe breaking down like this  
was terrifying. "Tenchi I'm scared! I can feel an evil force at work and its more powerful  
than anything I've ever felt before! Its counteracting all my attempts!" she sobbed.  
-- Ryoko, Aeka, get down here! We have big trouble! -- he thought strongly.  
-- We're on our way! -- Ryoko thought back.  
"This mean, I assume, that my accident in my dimension is not the cause behind this."  
Kryton said.  
Washu conposed herself and looked up at the avitar. "That's right. There is something else is at work here."  
"I may have insights into what this evil is, but I need to consult with Lord Orrin before  
making unnecesary assumptions." Kryton said.  
"Oh, he's in the regeneration tank. When will he be ready to come out?" Tenchi asked.  
"From the speed that he is healing, I would say only an hour or so." Washu said.  
  
Ryoko and Aeka burst into the lab to see Tenchi standing with Washu. His hands were on her shoulders and he was holding her close to him. Tear streaks were running down her face and  
she appeared to be physically shaking. Her face was a mask of both frustration and fear.  
"What's going on here, mo-om?" Ryoko asked with her hands on her hips.  
Aeka looked past them and saw the holodisplay of the swirling maw that looked for all the  
world like a black hole. To one side of the swirling mass was an image of the planet Earth  
and the moon. A simulation was repeating over and over of the moon hitting the Earth.  
"Lord Tenchi, what is that?" she asked.  
"The instrument of our destruction." he replied.  
____________________  
End of Chapter three...  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic please send me an email to zorch@the-zorch.com, subject line  
"TM Fan Fic". Coming up next in The Dark Lord of Jurai Saga, Episode One: Chapter 4 - Orrin  
Awakens, and Chapter 5 - Hello Sakuya. 


	3. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Chap...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Previously in our story...  
  
An intellegent alien space craft lands with a fatally injured passenger, and Washu is  
his only hope. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka shock the family over their wedding to each other, and  
Washu introduces the family to their latest house guest...the spaceship Kryton. Later, Washu  
tells Tenchi, about the impending danger against the Earth and the fact that she is powerless   
to stop it. We last left them in Washu's lab where the others are about to learn the bad news.  
__________  
Chapter 4 - Orrin Awakens  
  
"Come again, Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked him.  
"That is the instrument of our destruction. There is something in orbit of the Earth  
that is threatening to send the moon crashing into the plaent." he said.  
"I hope this is some wild joke, right." Ryoko smiled.  
"Its no joke. In ten days the moon is going to hit the Earth." he said.  
"Oh, great Tsunami!" Aeka cried. She covered her mouth with her hands in shock.  
"Mother, why aren't you doing something about this?" Ryoko asked angrily.  
"I tried, some force out there is blocking me. Its been jamming my sensor instruments  
too." Washu said.  
"You said you might have insights into this, what are they?" Tenchi asked Kryton.  
"Its better to speak to Lord Orrin, he is a far better scientist than I am, and he knows  
more about this sort of thing than I do." Kryton replied.  
"Washu, you said an hour is all he needs now." Tenchi asked her.  
"One hour and Orrin will be as good as new." she said.  
"Good, send him out as soon as he's up and about, ok." Tenchi told her.  
"Anything you say, Tenchi." she replied.  
  
Everyone filed out of her lab so she could get back to work. Washu walked over to a  
table where Orrin's clothes and equipment was layed out neatly. She had inspected everything,  
and discovered that the young prince carried quite an arsonal of weaponry. She found three  
small energy pistol, an energy rifle that could be broken down, a personal force field device,  
a personal cloaking device, several grenades of different types she was unfamiliar with, and  
a strange sword handle with a large gemstone at the hilt. This one artifact seemed to be  
eminating strange power readings that seemed similar to Ryoko's gems and the spaceship Kryton.  
Which, of course, meant that it had magical properties, she realized. The fabric of his  
clothing was soft but it was actually a kind of strong metal, and there was a seam that ran  
along the back, along the back of each arms and leg, and around the collar that she was  
curious about. The seam appeared to be a device for converting energy into matter, but for  
what purpose she could not determine. She turned away from the artifacts and went over to the  
regeneration tank that Orrin floated in. It was nearly time to bring him out.  
  
The family, with the exception of Washu, was gathered in the living room. Tenchi sat on  
the couch with Aeka on one side and Ryoko on the other. He had his arm around Aeka as she  
rested her head on his shoulder. Ryoko was holding onto Tenchi's other arm as if she were  
afraid to let him go. Mihoshi was gushing out torrents of tears as she crush Khyone in a  
hug. Sasami and Ryu-Ohki were silently sitting on the floor. Noboyuki was kneeling before  
the miniature shrine to his late wife, and Yosho was up at the shrine performing a   
marriage. Kryton just stood ouside the ring of friends and was not sure what to do.  
"We could always take off in Ryu-Ohki and find us another planet." Ryoko said.  
"What about the 6 billion other people?" Tenchi asked her.  
"Oh, ya, your right." she said quietly.  
"Washu can find a way to stop this can't she?" Sasami asked.  
"I hope so, I really hope so." Tenchi said.  
"Once his lordship awakens we might have more of a chance." Kryton said.  
"Is Orrin a good scientist?" Ryoko asked him.  
"As good as your Little Washu, and probably better." Kryton replied.  
"Don't let Washu hear you say that." Ryoko said.  
  
Washu was in a wash of conflicting emotions. On one hand she was frustrated and scared  
that she could not stop the rift from shifting the orbit of the moon. And, on the other the  
young man she was about extract from the regeneration tank was a dead likeness for her husband  
from long ago. She knew he was not him, but the resemblance was so uncanny. She wondered if  
he was anything like him. Kryton told her he was a scientist and a good one, and he was also  
a member of a royal family.  
She keyed in a sequence into her holopad to begin the final regeneration process before  
bringing him out. A beam of light shown on Orrin's body in the tank. He was naked but a   
piece to instrumentation inside the tank covered the more interesting parts of his anatomy.  
Slowly Orrin began to rise out of the tank and into another chamber, when the transfer was done  
there was a bright flash of light and the sound of crackling electricity. Orrin was slowly  
transfered from that chamber and lowered onto an examination table in the lab. Washu was in  
her nurse's outfit now as she approached the unconscious prince.  
Washu tapped in another sequence onto her holopad and a white robe materialized around  
Orrin's body. Slowly the form began to move. Orrin opened his eyes, his vision was a bit  
blurred, and then he found himself in complete alien surroundings.  
He sat up and his eyes fell upon Washu. -He even has his eyes. Steady girl.-  
"Who are you?" he asked with a weak voice.  
"I'm Washu, but you can call me Little Washu." she said.  
"Alright, Little Washu, can you tell me where I am?" he asked.  
"Your in my lab. You were pretty badly banged up so your ship brought you here." she  
said.  
Orrin climbed off the examination table slowly on legs that were still a little weak and  
walked up to her. "Kryton is here, right now?" he asked.  
"He's in the house waiting for you with my friends." she said.  
"I want to thank you, Little Washu." said Orrin as he touched her shoulder.  
At that moment Orrin's innner Setari powers came to life. Strange visions swirled in his  
mind. He saw an image of himself with a baby in his arms walking away from a woman who looked  
like the child he was standing in front of right now. He was the scene of a raging battle in  
space. He saw a cryan haired woman with an energy sword in her hand standing with a young  
man, and a purple hair woman stood next to them. He felt her fear, it was strong, and he saw  
the image of the moon of this planet crashing into the surface. Orrin could see what appeared  
to be a thread, or beam, pointing straight into Washu's mind. He felt the beam and knew what  
it was and saw it for what it was. He broke the beam and setup a block in her mind to prevent  
it from forming inside her again.  
When the vision subsided Orrin found himself on the floor with Little Washu kneeling   
beside him. Her face was a mask of intense worry and concern. He slowly sat up when a hand  
touched his shoulder. He looked up expecting to see Little Washu, but what he saw was the red  
haired woman from his vision.  
"What happened, are you alright?" she asked.  
"Little Washu?" Orrin asked looking at her.  
"Yes, its me." she said.  
"When I touched you, I had a vision. Your were under a psychic attack with ab irrational  
fear." he said.  
Washu did notice that the fear that nearly crippled her was now completely gone. She  
looked at her consoles and noticed that the fear she felt at trying to stop the rift was not  
there either. "Psychic attacks, by whom?" she asked.  
"The Darkness." Orrin said.  
"What is the Darkness." she asked.  
"They are the most vile creatures in existance." Orrin told her. "If they are here we  
are all in serious danger."  
Washu helped Orrin stand back up and walked him over to a comfortable seat she called up  
for him. They sat together as he explained everything to her. Orrin told her of his mission  
to stop the Imperium, the rediscovery of Etherealology, and several ancient legends foretold  
by the Elo'Quin. He explained that the major religion in the galaxy accepted these legends as  
doctrine, and they have been awaiting from them to be fulfilled. Recent events that have taken  
place in his life have been written in the legends of the Elo'Quin. When he redicovered the  
science of Etherealology it was then that he learned of the horrible truth behind the  
disappearance of the Elo'Quin by the hands of the Darkness. he recounted his first encounter  
with the monsterous creatures and that they nearly killed him.  
"They were more powerful than anything I've ever faced before." he explained.  
"They must be to destroy a civilization with that much power." Washu said.  
"The Elo'Quin still exist, but they are scattered across the galaxy. There were even  
some evidence that some crossed to other dimensions." he said.  
"This Darkness, if the Elo'Quin came here to this universe, would they have followed  
them?" asked Washu.  
"Most certainly. The Darkness feared the power of the Elo-Quin because only magic or  
magical weapons can harm them." he explained.  
"What is the Darkness, what type of race are they?" she asked.  
"The Darkness is a race of creatures we call the Darklings. They were once ordinary life  
forms that were infected by a symbiant that survives by feeding upon the lifeforce of other  
creatures. You could say they are a kind of vampire." Orrin explained.  
"And, that fear I was feeling?" she asked.  
"Was one of their means of attack." he said.  
"What happens now that they can no longer effect me?" she asked.  
"They will come here, most likely." he said darkly.  
"If there are no Elo'Quin on earth why would they come here?" Washu asked.  
"That is something we'd better find out and quickly before they decide to act in person."  
he said.  
"Will we be able to stand a chance?" she asked.  
"As I said, only magic hurts them and nothing else." Orrin said.  
"Only a few of us here have magical powers." she said.  
"I feel a magical power in that stone on your wrist." Orrin said.  
Washu lifted her arms to show the gem that Tenchi had given her and all the girls after  
the battle with Kagato. They were the same gems they used when they confronted Yugi in her  
palace.  
"It was a gift from someone very dear to me." she said.  
Orrin touched the gem and he closed his eyes for a minute. The gem glowed for an   
instant before he let it go. "Its protecting you from their mind control attack." he said.  
"They're trying to control my mind?" she asked a little shocked.  
"Darklings possess immense psychic and magical powers." he said.  
  
An alarm began to go off in the lab and Washu ran to her holocomputer. The rift was  
starting to change. "The harmonic frequency of the rift has changed. I am detecting a  
strange quantum space distortion forming. It appears to be near the house!"  
"Let me see the wave patterns." Orrin said.  
A complex spectrographic display of the distortion appeared on another holoscreen.  
"Its another rift, and something is coming through." he said.  
"Is it them?" Washu asked.  
"No, this one is appears to be human." Orrin replied.  
  
Sakuya was tired but it had been a good walk. She knew she should not have gone out  
alone but she enjoyed the brisk autumn air. The cool breeze felt good on her since she was   
having another one of those hot flashes. Tenchi would be worried about her and she knew that  
Achika would lecture her about leaving the house by herself like this. It had been several  
weeks since she moved in with him and his family and already they were treating her like one of  
their own.  
She was making the turn that would lead to the path to the house when she noticed a  
strange patch of fog. It was odd to see fog in weather this cold, but then she was new to this  
region of Japan. She walked into the fog and felt a momentary feeling of vertigo as if she   
were falling. She leaned herself against a tree at the side of the path and put her hand on  
her bulging stomach. The tiny life within was starting to kick again. A pang of hunger went  
through her and she knew it was time to feed her baby. Tenchi insisted that she move in with  
him at his house when he learned that the child was his. He wanted to do the right thing, and  
in a few short weeks they would be wed at his grandfather's shrine.  
Slowly Sakuya stood up and started down the path again. The weather seemed to have  
changed all of a sudden, it was a bit colder now, and the fog was beginning to fade away. She   
neared the house and suddenly noticed several things out of place. Since when, she thought,   
did Tenchi's house have a greenhouse? When she reached the edge of the Masaki property she  
noticed something strange about the entrace. The gate to the fron yard was guarded on either  
side by two large wooden cylinders. Each one has a round gem in the center and a strange  
red and blue character written on it that looked like Japanese but was not. She scratched her  
head and wondered if this was some sort of project Tenchi and his dad had been working on while  
she was gone. How could they have put all this up so fast, she thought. She was only gone for  
an hour.  
She pushed her way through the gate and did not notice the two cylinders turning around  
to look at her as she walked by. Slowly, her feet starting to hurt, she walked up to the house  
and half expected to see Achika running out yelling at her. Nobody seemed to notice she was  
even coming which was odd. They should have noticed she was gone a long time ago.  
Sakuya walked onto the front porch of the house and heard several unfamiliar voice  
coming from inside. They must have company over, she though. She pulled out her keys and  
tried to unlock the front door, but the key that Tenchi gave her would not fit the lock. He  
wouldn't have changed the locks on her. Just that day he had kissed her and told her how much  
he love her and the baby, and that he was looking forward to their wedding day. She was  
getting scared now and didn't know what to make of all these strange changes. She gathered her  
courage and knocked on the door.  
  
Tenchi and the gang were sitting in the living room talking about the situation they  
facing. They had 10 days to figure out a way to stop the moon from hitting the Earth. Washu  
seemed powerless to stop it, for now. They needed to hear from Prince Orrin who might be able  
to help.  
"I think I'll go and start lunch." Sasami said.  
"May I assist you, mi'lady." Kryton asked.  
"Sure, I wouldn't mind the company." she smiled.  
"What's taking Washu so long?" Khyone snorted.  
"She said Prince Orrin was very badly injured. We need to give her time to tend to him."   
Aeka said.  
"Everyone, please stay calm. I know we are all on edge." Yosho spoke up.  
Everyone in the house jumped at the sound of a knock at the front door.  
"Who could that be?" Tenchi said as he got up to answer the door.  
  
Tenchi walked up to the door and opened it. For a few seconds he stood there not sure  
what to say or do. He felt as if he were in a whirlwind and he was just a leaf. Aeka and  
Ryoko felt the powerful feeling of distress in their loved one's mind and rushed to his side.  
Tenchi was white as a ghost and looke as if he had just seen one. His eyes were as wide as  
sauce pans. The two women looked at the person standing inside the doorway looking at them  
with shock on her face. She pulled back a hood that covered her head and they gasped at the  
sight of a face that neither of them thought they were ever see again. Sakuya.  
__________  
Chapter 5 - Hello Sakuya...  
  
Ryoko's first thought was that Yugi had woke back up and she was up to her old tricks  
again. She reached out and grabbed Sakuya by the scruff of the neck and gave the young girl a  
deadly look. Sakuya's face was white as a sheet and her eyes reflected terror. Aeka had a  
similar feeling and was about to join Ryoko when she noticed something about Sakyua. She look  
at the young girl and saw her large bulging stomach. She gasped and grabbed Ryoko's arm.  
"Ryoko, stop.....she's pregnant!" she exclaimed.  
"Huh!" she said in surprise and looked down at her.  
"Oh my God!" Ryoko breathed when she noticed her stomach.  
Tenchi came out of his shock at seeing Sakuya alive again and rushed in between her and  
his wives. He put his arms up to block them.  
"Girls, please don't hurt her! Lets find out why she's here." he said.  
"I know exactly why she's here." Aeka said bitterly.  
"I have forgiven you for falling in love with her, but this is too much Tenchi!" Ryoko  
spat.  
"Hey, now, you don't think....I mean I'm not...oh boy." he said, his face faultering.  
"Tenchi!" came Sakuya voice with a shiver of fear. "What's going on, who are these two  
girls and why are they being so mean to me?"  
It was then that Washu burst out of her lab. She look over the situation in the room and  
saw Tenchi guarding a frightened figure at the front door from Aeka and Ryoko who were seething  
with rage. The rage was directed at him.  
"This is unforgivable Lord Tenchi. You neve told us you made love to her!" Aeka shouted.  
"I didn't! I sware! I'm as confused about her being here as much as you are!" he  
pleaded.  
"Tenchi, we love each other, why are you saying those things." Sakuya started crying.  
"I can explain that." Washu spoke up.  
Everyone looked at the red headed scientist who was still in her adult form. She walked  
up to Tenchi and looked at Sakuya. Her eyes went wide for a minute when she noticed the girl   
was at least 6 months pregnant. She ran a scanner over the girl for a second and looked at the  
readings on it.  
"Miss Washu, what are you doing?" Aeka asked.  
"Scanning Sakuya's quantum resinance frequency and comparing it with our own." she  
replied.  
"What is that for?" Ryoko asked.  
"I'll tell you in a minute." Washu said.  
The device beeped and she looked at the display. Her eyebrow went up in surprise.  
"Well, mo-om?" Ryoko asked, her hands on her hips.  
"Just as I thought. I detected a quantum spacial distrubance near the house. Sakuya  
here does not have the same quantum resinance frequency we have." said Washu.  
"In plain Japanese please, Little Washu." Tenchi said.  
"Sakuya here is from another dimension." she replied.  
  
Sakuya sat on the couch with everyone looking at her. She felt like an exhibit at a   
freak show the way they were looking at her. Tenchi sat next to her with those two girls, Aeka  
and Ryoko, sitting behind him. She was scared and didn't quite know how to deal with what she  
was just told. She felt like she was in an episode of the Twilight Zone, and was expecting to  
see Rod Serling show up. She barely understood what she was told, quantum resinance  
frequencies, quantum spacial distortions. This sounded more like things from Star Trek rather  
than things that could effect her.  
All she could understand was that the man who looked, sounded, and talked like the Tenchi  
she fell in love with and got pregnant by was not the Tenchi she knew. The two girls sitting  
behind him were his two wives. The other women in the house were as beautiful as the his  
wives, but they were just his close friends. The one person she did not see as Achika.  
"Tenchi, where is your mother?" she asked.  
"She died when I was 5 years old." he replied.  
"I'm so sorry." she said.  
"Do you meed anything? Sasami is making lunch, she is a very good cook." he asked.  
"We are getting a little hungry." she said patting her belly.  
"We don't own that little hussy anything, Tenchi." Ryoko said.  
Tenchi turned around to her. "Ryoko! This isn't the Sakuya we know, or I should say we  
knew. Please, be nice to her."  
"What did, I, myself from his universe do that was so terrible?" Sakuya said with a  
trembling voice.  
"That little hussy tried to steal Tenchi away from us." Ryoko snapped. "She was an evil  
bitch and I hate her guts!"  
"Ryoko! Sakuya was not evil. And neither was Yugi if you remember?" he scolded her.  
"What are you talking about?" Sakuya asked.  
Tenchi decided to start from the beginning to explain their situation. Sakuya was  
shocked to learn that all the girls in the house were from outer space, that Ryoko was some  
sort of being created in a labratory, and the Aeka was a princess. She was even more shocked  
that Tenchi himself was one fourth alien, and his grandfather was an alien as well. He told  
the story of the battle with Kagato in space, his trip to Tokyo to perform a duty of family  
honor and his encounter with Sakuya, from this universe. He explained the strange things that  
seemed to follow them everwhere they went. He admitted that he fell in love the Sakuya of his  
universe, but it was too late and she died. In fact, she had never been real to begin with  
because she was the creation of a little girl name Yugi who came from Princess Aeka's homeworld  
and possessed incredible powers. She had been trying to break up the family so she could get  
to Sasami and steal her away without interference. She nearly succeeded in ruining their  
entire relationship with each other. When it was all over Yugi volunteered to go into stasis  
until she was ready to be a part of normal society. She had never been evil to begin with and   
was just a lonely and misunderstood little girl. In the end they all got back together and   
decided to try and heal the emotional wounds they suffered. This continued until Tenchi   
started dating both Aeka and Ryoko in order to keep them from constantly fighting over him.   
This only lead him to fall in love with both girls, and thus lead to him marrying both girls in   
an ancient Juraian ritual called the Great Bond.  
"You guys can like talk telepathicly. Wow!" she said excited.  
"Its deeper then that, but, ya, we can." Tenchi said.  
"That is so cool!" Sakuya said. "And, your all aliens?"  
"With an exception of me, and Tenchi is just one fourth alien." Noboyuki said.  
"Sakuya, listen, Aeka and me really acted like a couple of bitches." Ryoko said.  
"What Ryoko is trying to say is, we're sorry for the way we treated you." Aeka said.  
"Oh, its ok. I'd act the same way if somebody tied to steal my Tenchi away." she said.  
"Where did you meet Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked her.  
"In school. I fell for him the first day." she said blushing. "We started dating about  
three weeks later."  
"When did this happen." Tenchi asked looking at her stomach.  
"Oh, we went on a three day trip to the beach. You, I mean my Tenchi, rented a beach  
house. I'll never forget that first night for as long as I live." she said whistfully.  
"Well, hopefully Washu can get you back home soon." Tenchi said.  
"I hope so, Achika probably has every police officer for 100 miles searching for me  
right now." she said.  
"I still can't get over the fact that my mom is alive in your universe." Tenchi said.  
"Oh yes, and she's so nice to me." she said.  
Sasami and Kryton came out of the kitchen at that moment. Sakuya got one look at the  
avitar and her eyes went wide. "Lunch is ready.....oh my God!" Sasami shouted at seeing  
Sakuya alive and well, pregnant, and sitting on the living room couch.  
"I am missing something here, aren't I?" kryton asked them.  
"Does this mean Yugi is awake." Sasami asked a excitedly.  
"No, like our mechanical friend here she is from another dimension too." Tenchi said.  
Sasami looked very disappointed at that and she extended her hand out to Sakuya.  
"Hi, I'm Sasami." she said.  
"Nice to meet you, Sasami." Sakuya smiled.  
  
The door to Washu lab opened and she emerged with Prince Orrin in tow. He walked stiffly  
but was now able to get around a little better. He was dressed in his royal uniform now and  
was out of the robe that Washu had put him in. The man was taller than Washu, with dark hair,  
dark eyes, and a fair complection. He seemed to have build similar to Tenchi's and looked to  
be found 19 years of age, but they guess he was probably much older than that.  
"Everyone, may I present First Crown Prince Orrin Quintarin of the Setari Empire." Washu  
said.  
"Hello." everyone said to him.  
"He may be able to help with the problem of the rift." she said.  
"That is great!" Mihoshi cheered.  
"But the worse is yet to come. It appears that the rift is a result of an evil force."  
she continued.  
The room became deathly quiet at that.  
"I don't want to frighten any of you, but if what his hightness told me is true then  
we are going to be facing an evil that will make Kagato look like a walk in the park."  
she told them in a very serious tone.  
  
Everyone except Kryton was gathered around the dinner table for lunch. They enjoyed a  
lite meal of rice balls, shrimp and various other dishes. Sakuya took a seat next to Tenchi,  
and Sasami made sure she had extra helpings which she quickly wolfed down. Orrin tasted some  
of the food and then joined in the meal with earnest. Nobody talked for several minutes until  
Sakuya was Ryu-Ohki appear from under the table with a carrot in her mouth.  
"What's that? Oh, its so cute!" she shouted.  
"That's Ryu-Ohki." Tenchi told her.  
"Miya!" the cabbit meowed.  
"Is it a cat or a rabbit?" Sakuya asked.  
"She is a cabbit, and Ryoko's sister." Washu said.  
"She is not my sister, mo-om!" Ryoko shouted.  
"She came from my egg cells that I used to create you, so technically she is." Washu  
replied.  
"Ummmmmm!" Ryoko growled.  
"This food is very good, Sasami." Sakuya commented.  
"Thanks, I really like to cook." she said.  
"You will make someone an excellent wife someday, princess." Orrin said.  
Sasami blushed furiously.  
"Just wait until dinner time, that is where she excels in the kitchen." Aeka said.  
"If she were only older, I would marry her." he replied.  
Sasami blushed again and hid her face. This made everyone at the table break out in a  
laugh. It was good for them to have a little fun the light of what they were all facing.  
Washu broke the mood, however when she spoke up.  
"After lunch, we are all meeting in my lab. Prince Orrin and I have to brief you all on  
what has been happening." she said.  
"Has the situation changed up there?" Tenchi asked her.  
"No. But, I am afraid things have turned worse than I first realized." she said.  
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this in front of Sakuya. We might upset her." Aeka said.  
"She's in as much danger as we are while she is here." Washu said.  
"You can send her home, can't you?" Tenchi asked.  
"The quantum distortions generated by the rift make opening a doorway to her dimension  
very dangerous right now." she replied.  
"What are you guys talking about?" Sakuya asked a little frightened now. "What is this  
about a rift and an evil force?"  
"You came at a bad time." Tenchi told her. "There is a rip in the fabric of reality out   
in space and its going to make the moon crash into the Earth unless we repair it, in 10 days."  
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed putting her hands to her mouth. "My baby!"  
"We won't let anything happen to your baby." Tenchi reassured her.  
She reflexively reached out to him and he held her. Ryoko and Aeka gave him a dirty  
look and he shrugged his shoulders at them. Sakuya started sobbing into his chest. He patted  
her back and tried to calm her down. Seeing Sakuya again and seeing her like this brought  
back alot of old painful memories he thought he would never experience again. It had taken  
him a long time with the help of Aeka and Ryoko to forget Sakuya and hide the pain he felt from  
her death. Holding her in his arms again was making the pain of loosing her come back in full  
force. Aeka and Ryoko felt his distress and the nature of it. -- Oh, Tenchi. Its Ok, we are  
here for you. -- Ryoko thought to him. -- Be strong, Lord Tenchi. -- Aeka thought to him.  
  
They helped Sakuya up the stairs to Tenchi's room where she could get some rest. She  
was exhausted from her walk and from her crying. When she was asleep they regrouped in Washu's  
lab. She had a display of the rift hovering before them. Prince Orrin took a positon next to  
her. They explained the situation of the rift and the moon had not changed, but what they  
did not anticipate was the explanation they received from Prince Orrin about the Darkness. He  
gave them similar information he gave to Washu. By the time he was done they were all looking  
at the rift a little more frightfully.  
"So, these creatures want to destroy the Earth, but why?" Ryoko asked.  
"When we die our life force is freed. In that instant a Darkling can absorb it." Orrin  
told her. "Now imagine billions upon billions of living things dying at once."  
"Its an all you can eat buffet." Tenchi said.  
"Exactly." Orrin said.  
"Just wonderful." Aeka said rolling her eyes.  
"There is more. Remember how scared I was earlier. Well that was the result of a  
psychic assult on my mind." Washu said.  
"The Darklings have immense psi powers and they can make you do almost anything they  
want." Orrin told them.  
"And, remember these?" she asked as she held up her wrist to show the gem that Tenchi  
had given her. They were the ones that his mother had given him, and the ones that helped  
him defeat Kagato by summoning the Light Hawk Sword. "They are the only reason why they were  
unable to take control of my mind."  
"Our gems protect us from them?" Ryoko said.  
"Their ethereal power protects you. The Darklings are involnerable to all forms of   
atteck except magic and magical weapons." Orrin explained.  
"I was right, they are magic." Ryoko said.  
"That leaves out my blasters and the weapons on the Yugami." Khyone sighed.  
"I can upgrade them using principles of Etherealology." Orrin said.  
"I still don't understand why they are going after this planet?" Ryoko asked.  
"Its impossible to tell right now." Washu said.  
  
An alarm sounded from the holocomputer. Orrin turned to look at the readings. He   
whirled back around to them.  
"There are several quantum distortions forming around the countryside. I read at least  
five or six." he said.  
"Great, with my luck it'll be five or siz Sakuya's." Tenchi said.  
"Or worse, five or six Aeka's." Ryoko said.  
"That's not funny, Ryoko." Aeka scolded her.  
"Your right, its downright horrifying." she chuckled.  
-- Behave yourselves. -- Tenchi thought to them.  
______________  
End of Chapter Four...  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic please send me an email to zorch@the-zorch.com, subject line  
"TM Fan Fic". Coming up next in The Dark Lord of Jurai Saga, Episode One: Chapter 6 -  
Shattered Realities, and Chapter 7 - Darkling Dawn. 


	4. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Chap...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Previously in our story...  
  
Previously in our story Prince Orrin awakes from Washu's regeneration chamber and he  
tells her his story. Washu failure to close the rift and her fear are the result of a greater  
evil at work. He tell the story of the Darkness and how they devestated the Elo'Quin race.  
At the same time a living and very pregnant Sakuya from another dimension appears and rocks  
Tenchi's boat. We last left the family in Washu lab after they learned the truth behind the  
threat to the Earth. At that moment more distortions that heralded Sakuya's reappearance  
suddenly appear...  
__________  
Chapter 6 - More Visitors  
  
Tenchi Masaki was not sure what happened to him, he was walking home from school on a  
nice hot day, and in a sudden flash of light he was dumped into a freezer. He clutched his  
thin shirt around him as he ran to his house. This was totally bizare and he was starting to  
really freak out. He got to the door and rushed inside. As he turned around he saw something  
he never imagined he would ever see. Aeka and Ryoko were in his house. The two most sought  
after and most popular girls in school were here in his house. They never noticed he was  
alive before, they said hi to him from time to time, but they usually ignored him most of the   
time. Aeka's little sister Sasami had a crush on him and she was always following him every-  
where.  
Ryoko and Aeka looked at him and wondered why Tenchi would go out in the cold without a  
jacket or coat on. Then, they noticed something...they couldn't feel this Tenchi in their   
minds. They saw him but in their mind there was a blank spot. They felt Tenchi, and they   
saw pieces of his experiences in Washu's lab as he talked to Washu and Prince Orrin. This  
Tenchi must have just arrived. They had to tread carefully here because this Tenchi was not  
theirs and who knows what relationship he had with them, if at all.  
"Uh, hi girls, what are you doing here?" he asked them.  
"Hello, Tenchi." Ryoko said.  
"Freaky weather out there, huh?" he asked.  
"Yes, its very cold." Aeka said.  
They stood there for several minutes. They didn't know how to proceed or react to this  
new Tenchi. Tenchi on the other hand was thinking how gorgeous they were and why they were in  
his house, and why were they looking at him that way. Did they secret like him but were afraid  
to approach him before or face peer pressure to dump him. That must be it, he thought, they  
got the hots for me. This is so cool.  
  
Tenchi came out of Washu's lab and saw Aeka and Ryoko standing together looking at some-  
one ont he other side of the living room. He looked and thought he was looking into a mirror.  
He was standing there in his school uniform with his bookbag flung over his shoulder. Tenchi  
stood there and his mouth was agape.  
"Ah, I see we have another visitor." Tenchi said to the girls.  
They just nodded to him and said nothing.  
"Hi, um, your probably wondering what is going on." he said to the other Tenchi.  
"Y-Y-Y-Your me." the other Tenchi said.  
"That's right." Tenchi said.  
"What about them?" the other Tenchi asked.  
"They live here in this house." Tenchi said.  
The other Tenchi fell to his kneels, clapped his hands together in that old shrine  
habit manner and said as he looked up at the ceiling, "Thank you, thank you!"  
"Hold up, these two are mine." Tenchi said. - Oh god, now I sound like them. -  
"Huh, you have two girlfriends!" the other Tenchi exclaimed.  
"Shhh, there is a pregnant girl sleeping upstairs who is very tired." Aeka said.  
"Who's the father?" the other Tenchi asked.  
"We are." Tenchi said.  
"I feel like I am in an episode of Quantum Leap." the other Tenchi said.  
"Reality is far stranger than fiction." Tenchi told him.  
  
Orrin puzzled over how the rift was being maintained. It seemed so unstable, but it was  
somehow maintaining particle cohesion. Washu looked at the readings and also puzzled over it  
as well. She learned very quickly that the Setari prince was a near equal to her scientific   
prowess. His understanding of Quantum Mechanics proved to be very advanced.  
"Could they be using magic to keep it open?" she asked.  
"Its very likely, but they have an advanced science also." he said.  
Washu, without thinking about it, took his hand in hers. When she realized what she was  
doing she withdrew and blushed furiusly.  
"Is there something wrong?" he asked her sensing her discomfort.  
Washu turned away from him. She was embarrassed at what she did, and this was strange  
for her since she acted like a sex fiend most of the time when Tenchi was around. She turned  
back to him and look into his eyes. He looked and acted so much like the man she loved so  
long ago it was uncanny.  
"I can't help it. When I look at you its like looking at him." she said.  
"Could you explain?" he asked her.  
Washu told the story about her life 20,000 years ago at the Juraian Science Academy. She  
had fallen in love with a student, they married and had a child together. He had been from a  
rich family with very high social standards. One day she came home to find represenatives of  
the family blocking her way into the house. The family forced her husband to disvorce her  
and leave with their child because of her lower social status. The event destroyed her world  
and just about ruined her life. She determined that if social status among adults was more  
important than love then she would rather live the rest of her life as a child. Thus, she  
altered herself so she appeared to look like a 12 year old girl again. The leaders of the  
Academy feared she was go insane and banished her. By the time she was done telling her story   
she was in tears. She then told Orrin that he looked exactly like her husband.  
"I didn't know." he said.  
"Being near you is really getting to me." she said.  
"I can't imagine what was going through his mind. How could anyone ever want to break  
the heart of a creature as beautiful as you." he said.  
"I've been asking myself that question for 20,000 years." she said with a short sob.  
"Its unforgivable! He obviously didn't love you enough to ignore his family." he said.  
"I often wondered about that." she said.  
"You deserve to be treated better than that." Orrin said and he took her hand.  
  
Mihoshi was not in a good mood at all. One minute she was on her ship and next she   
was dumped into an ice cold lake. She climbed out of the lake and wrung out her cloak. She   
was cold but she barely noticed it through the haze of anger in her mind. She was looking for   
Ryoko and was going to make Ryoko pay for the past. She pulled out her eletro whip and looked   
at her surroundings. It was the household of that weakling Earth man named Tenchi that Ryoko   
had the hots for. She was seen skulking aound here chasing after him day after day. Now it   
was payback time.  
Mihoshi adjusted his cloak and walked forward towards the house. She noticed a pair of  
guardians from Jurai at the gate to the grounds. So, the rumors of Princess Aeka Jurai living  
here and chasing after this Tenchi was correct after all. She would kill two birds with one  
stone today. She would kill Ryoko and capture Aeka and her human lover for ransome. This was  
turning out to be a very good day after all. As she passed the gate she energized her whip.  
  
Aeka and Ryoko tumbled down the hillside and landed in a heap on top of each other. The  
Princess of Jurai pushed Ryoko off of her and stood up in a very bad mood. She was seething,  
and barely noticed that the air had suddenly turned very cold.  
"Demon! You'll pay for that!" she exclaimed.  
"Bring it on, little girl." Ryoko the demon said.  
Aeka summoned her mini-guardians to surround them.  
"Prepare to meet your end, underworlder!" Aeka exlaimed.  
"In your dreams, Princess!" Ryoko the demon shouted.  
Ryoko suddenly teleported as the mini-guardings unleashed a blast of energy. Aeka   
whirled around looking for her, but suddenly caught a kick to the back of her legs when Ryoko  
materialized behind her. Aeka fell to the ground, rolled, and leapt to her feet.  
"Enough of your parlor tricks, hellspawn!" Aeka screamed. "This time we fight to the  
death!"  
"Fine by me!" Ryoko screams back.  
She unleashed a blast of energy from her hands that would have caught Ryoko had she not  
suddenly shifted to the side. The explosion took out a row of trees behind her.  
It was Ryoko's turn, the gems on his wrists started to glow and she formed her energy  
sword. She swooped into the air and dove down at Aeka for a killing blow. "I'll have your  
head and then Tenchi will belong to me!" she shouted.  
"Tenchi would never love a beast like you!" Aeka replied as she deployed her shield.  
Ryoko's sword struck the shield with tremendous force and she held it there. Sparks of  
raw power flew as the sword and shield resisted each other. The power built up and suddenly  
in a flash of light and sound Ryoko was blasted back through the air.  
"Hahahahahahhaha!" Aeka laughed like a lunatic.  
Ryoko picked herself off the groiund and spat out a clump of dirt in her mouth.  
"You think that's funny, huh?" she spat.  
Tenchi heard the sound of the battle outside and ran to investiage it. He carried the  
Tenchi-ken with him in case it was something dangerous. He suddenly came face to face with a  
sight out of his past, Ryoko and Aeka fighting each other, but this time it looked like they  
were really out to kill each other. He knew full well these were not his Ryoko and Aeka so he  
he had to proceed with caution, but he didn't want them to hurt each other either.  
The minute the girls saw him they stopped fighting and rushed towards him. Ryoko was the  
first to reach him since all she had to do was teleport. She latched onto him from behind and   
cried into his ear. "Oh, Tenchi, that insane Aeka tried to hurt me!"  
"Liar! Thats all demons do is lie." Aeka spat.  
"And, all Princesses do is whine and cry when they don't get their way. Wah, wah, wah!"  
Ryoko shouted back.  
"Get your hands off Lord Tenchi this instant, demon!" Aeka demanded.  
"Maybe Tenchi likes it. Don't you Tenchi, dear?" Ryoko said, running her fingers through  
his hair.  
"Lord Tenchi does not want a monster putting her evil hands all over him!" Aeka shouted.  
"Enough!" Tenchi shouted at the top his lungs.  
"Tenchi." Ryoko said in a shocked voice.  
"To the house, both of you, now!" he shouted and pointed to the house.  
The two of them looked at if someone had just taken their hearts and tore then to   
shreads. It was the first time he ever got mad like this at the girls, and these were two   
totally different Ryoko and Aekas. They also seemed to be afraid of him somehow, and the two  
women almost flinched away when he walked too close. Tenchi took note of this strange behavior  
and didn't think anything of it. They looked at him a bit fearfully and pleadingly at the same  
time.  
"Don't look at me like that. Now, get to the house." he said in a calmer voice.  
"This is all your fault, princess. Now he's mad at us." Ryoko said.  
"My fault, how dare you!" Aeka spat back.  
"Oh, god, here we go again." Tenchi said.  
  
Ryoko and Aeka stood on different sides of the living room in a battle stance. The other  
Tenchi was hiding behind the couch shivering in terror. Mihoshi stood in the center of the  
room with her electro whip at the ready. The front door to the house was shattered from her  
entrance sometime after Tenchi left to investigate the explosions outside. Mihoshi had not  
see that tenchi left, so she thought this was Tenchi who was hiding behind the couch.  
"Somehow I didm't picture you going for the weak spinless type, Ryoko." Mihoshi said as  
she looked down at a quivering Tenchi.  
"Move away from him." Ryoko said in a dangerous tone. That was not her Tenchi, but she  
couldn't let him get hurt none the less.  
"What's wrong, afraid I'll damage your plaything." Mihoshi said.  
-- This Mihoshi is acting like Nagi. -- Ryoko thought to Aeka.  
-- How do we handled this without hurting the other Tenchi? -- Aeka thought back.  
-- Follow my lead. -- Ryoko thought in reply.  
Ryoko made the first move teleporting to Mihoshi's side and aiming a fist to her mid  
section. Mihoshi anticipated the move, grabbed Ryoko's arm, and using her momentum sent her  
crashing through a wall.  
-- Maybe I won't. -- Aeka thought back.  
"Pathetic!" Mihoshi spat.  
She whirled around in that same move before Aeka could summon her mini-guardians and   
fired a netgun straped to her wrist. The net caught Aeka, and a surge of electricity made her   
body go numb and collapse to the floor.   
"Too easy, your not much of a challenge at all. Very disappointing." Mihoshi said.  
Ryoko issued a battle cry and came charging with her energy sword. Mihoshi adjusted her  
whip and it became rigid like a sword weapon. The two exchanged blows, deflecting sword  
swipe after sword swipe. Their dance of death went on for several minutes without either one  
yielding to the other or gaining the upper hand over the other. Ryoko and Mihoshi seemed  
almost evenly matched.  
"That is more like it." Mihoshi said calmly.  
"I'm full of surprises, Mihoshi." Ryoko said.  
At that moment Tenchi and the other two girls showed up. They watched in surprise as  
another Ryoko battled a Mihoshi who dressed like Nagi. Tenchi ran forward and ignited the  
Tenchi-ken. He leapted into the air, flipped in mid air, and landed on the other side of the  
Nagi-like Mihoshi. "Are you ok?" he asked Ryoko.  
"I am, now that your here. Aeka's been hurt though." she said.  
"I'll take care of this, you see to Aeka." he told her.  
"Anything you say, sweetheart." she said and teleported across the room.  
She started cutting away the net that trapped Aeka's limp form with her sword.  
Mihoshi looked from the frightened Tenchi laying in a fetal position on the floor and  
Tenchi weilding the energy sword and scratched her chin.  
"Now this is interesting." she said.  
"I urge you to yield, Mihoshi." Tenchi told her.  
"To whom, you. Hahahahahahaha!" she laughed.  
Mihoshi lunged in with her sword but Tenchi defected it with ease. They fought in the  
center of the room for several minutes and it became clear they were also very evenly matched.  
Tenchi also realized that he had to finish this fight quickly before someone got hurt or  
worse.  
Tenchi concentrated for a few moments looking for his center. He felt it there and   
called forth his hidden power. The Light Hawk Wing ignited around him, his body was garbed in   
white Juraian armor, and the Tenchi-ken became the Light Hawk Sword.  
"I'm not accustom to repeating myself, I urge you to yield, now." Tenchi said calmly.  
Mihoshi stared at him in this state and was dumbfounded. She had never seen anything  
like this before. What kind of being was this Tenchi Masaki? She could feel him reeking with  
immense power. It was first time she felt frighttened of an opponent in her entire life.  
"What are you?" she asked.  
"Tenchi Masaki, first crown prince of Jurai." he said.  
The other Aeka from outside suddenly gasped at this and put her hands to her mouth.  
"Didn't know you had it in you, Tenchi." the other Ryoko said.  
Mihoshi dropped her whip sword and stepped backwards. Ryoko took this as he cue to make  
her move, she teleports behind Mihoshi and clubed her with her fist. The woman collapsed in an  
unconscious heap on the ground.  
"Was that necessary?" Tenchi asked her as he reverted to his normal self.  
The assualt suddenly came as the other Ryoko and Aeka ran to him and grapped him.  
"Oh, Lord Tenchi, that was so wonderful!" the other Aeka cried.  
"Way to go, Tenchi!" the Ryoko shouted as she gropped him.  
"Let him go you demon-woman!" the other Aeka shouted.  
"Tenchi's mine!" the other Ryoko shouted back.  
"No, he's mine!" the other Aeka shouted back.  
Tenchi felt like he was being pulled in two like a wish bone.  
"Ryoko, help!" he shouted.  
The original Ryoko flew in and bashed both girls in the head sending them flying. They  
looked up in time to see her put her arms around Tenchi, and he put his arm around her.  
"Thanks." he said as he kissed her.  
"Anytime, dear." she replied kissing him back.  
  
Mihoshi recovered from the blow and was now sitting on the couch with the other Ryoko and  
Aeka and Tenchi. She was not tied up or restrained, and she decided that trying to make any  
trouble now would only mean her more trouble. The other Ryoko and Aeka just stared at the  
original Tenchi mournfully, and the other Tenchi was almost comatose. The original Tenchi was  
explaining what happened to them all. Aeka was sitting with him sipping some tea and trying to  
get over the effects of Mihoshi's electric net. Ryoko went outside to try and find anyone else who  
showed up in the other two distortion effects. Noboyuki and Yosho were working on getting  
the front door back up.  
"Now do you all understnad?" he asked them.  
"So, this is another dimension?" the other Aeka asked.  
"Yes." Tenchi said.  
"Tell me, Lord Tenchi, what is your relationship with the Aeka of this universe?" she  
asked him.  
"She is my wife." he said and the original Aeka leaned over and kissed his cheek.  
"Ha! Even in an alternate universe I still get Tenchi." she said to the other Ryoko.  
"Hey, I saw that other version of me kiss you." the other Ryoko accused.  
"I hate to admit it, but she is right. So did I." the other Aeka said.  
"Actually, both the Aeka and Ryoko of this univserse are married to me." Tenchi said.  
The other Ryoko and Aeka looked at each other and then back at Tenchi, and then back at  
each other. "NEVER!" they growled at each other viciously.  
"Was I ever that bad?" Aeka asked Tenchi.  
"Actually, I have to say those two are even worse." he said.  
  
Ryoko flew around the countryside looking for anything or anyone out of the ordinary and  
did not see anything. She thought about going back to the house since she didn't want to leave   
Tenchi alone with that alternate reality Aeka and herself. A sound caught her ears and see  
looked around to try and pinpoint it. It sounded like the meowking of a cat or a cabbit.  
She dropped down and looked around for the sound, and she found it. The little creature  
was huddled in the cold and was shivering. It looked at her frighteningly and shook even more.  
The cabbit was or looked like Ken-Ohki, but Ken-Ohki had never acted like this before. It was  
then that Ryoko heard the other sound. The sound was the voice of Nagi, or at least it sort  
of sounded like Nagi.  
"Ken-Ohki! Oh, where did he go?" came the voice.  
Ryoko picked up the frightened cabbit and walked out into the open where Nagi could see  
her. The dreaded bounty hunter that was Ryoko's arch enemy was wearing a Galaxy Police  
uniform. She jumped at the sight of Ryoko and drew her sidearm. Nagi's gun jumped around   
since she was shaking like a leaf. "Halt, Ryoko, your under arrest."  
"What for?" Ryoko asked with a sly smile.  
"For the murder of Tenchi Masaki!" she shouted.  
Ryoko dropped Ken-Ohki on his head and stood there in disbelief and shock.  
"You've got to be totally braindead to think I'd harm a hair on Tenchi's head." Ryoko  
finally said after recovering.  
"Don't try to confuse me. You murdered him after he married Princess Aeka and not  
you." Nagi said.  
Nagi pulled out a small holoprojector and an image appeared in the air before her. The  
scene was a wedding ritual at the Masaki family shrine. Princess Aeka walked out in a white  
wedding kimono and was joined by Tenchi. Yosho was presiding over the wedding. Suddenly,  
Ryoko saw herself fly into the scene an attack Aeka. Aeka put up her force field and blocked  
the attack. Ryoko summoned her energy sword and started to slash at Aeka visiously. Ryoko  
noticed that there were tears in her alternate self's eyes. Tenchi ran forward to try and  
break up the fight, but he got too close to one of Ryoko's sword blows and it sliced through  
his chest. The Ryoko in the scene totally freaked out and grabbed Tenchi up in her arms and  
was wailing with tears pouring out in torrents. The scene ended with Ryoko rushing away with  
Azaka and Kamadake chasing her. Aeka, her face contorted in immense sorrow cried over the  
body of her fallen husband. Ryoko could not help it but tears started to fall down her face.  
If she ever did that to her Tenchi she would kill herself without question.  
"I'd never do that to my Tenchi." Ryoko said.  
"I have proof!" Nagi screamed. "I was there!"  
"I'm not who you think I am." Ryoko said.  
-- Tenchi, I need you! -- Ryoko thought strongly.  
-- On my way, what's wrong? -- he thought back.  
-- Just hurry, please. -- she thought.  
  
Tenchi followed his mind's eye which lead him right to where Ryoko was. She was facing  
off again Nagi, but this Nagi was dressed in a Galaxy Police uniform. When he ran up to them  
Nagi suddenly gasped, dropped her gun, and ran to Tenchi with tears streaming down her face.  
Tenchi didn't know whether to fight or run, but he was embrassed by the woman instead.  
"Your alive, oh god, your alive!" Nagi cried.  
"Ryoko, what's going on?" he said.  
Ryoko walked up to him, and Nagi whirled around at her.  
"Stay away from him!" she shouted.  
"Nagi, your not where you think you are." Ryoko said.  
"Get away from Tenchi, you murderer!" she cried.  
Tenchi grabbed Nagi by the shoulders and the woman was shaking visibly. She looked into  
his eyes and knew that he was the real Tenchi.  
"Nagi, what's wrong, why are you acting like this?" he asked her.  
"She murdered you!" Nagi shouted and pointed at Ryoko.  
"Ryoko would never hurt me. We're in love." he said.  
This made Nagi suddenly look up at him searchingly. "What about Aeka? She thinks you  
died on your wedding day." she said.  
"Nagi, we need to talk. Boy do we need to talk." he said.  
  
Back at the house Nagi sat with the other visitors to the Masaki houseehold and was  
very confused. She understood the whole thing about dimensional travel, but why was she there  
and for what reason. She told her story to Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka of how Ryoko of her  
dimension attacked Tenchi and Aeka on their wedding day and Tenchi ended up getting killed on  
Ryoko's own sword. Ryoko gripped Tenchi hand tightly as they watched the fight and the death  
of Tenchi. Ryoko almost cried at the sight of her loved one dying at her own hands. Tenchi  
put his arms around her and Aeka put her arms around his neck.  
"I can see why you acted like you did, Officer Nagi." Aeka said.  
"I miss him. He was like a brother to me." Nagi sobbed.  
"It must have been terrible for me, I mean your Aeka." said Aeka.  
"After Tenchi's funeral she went back to Jurai with Sasami. I see her from time to  
time. She is so sad and withdrawn all the time. She refuses to marry." Nagi said.  
"I can't stand to hear anymore." Ryoko sobbed into Tenchi shoulder.  
"Its ok, this happened in a different universe. I know you'd never hurt me." he told  
her.  
"I know, but..." she said wiping her tears away.  
"But nothing." he said and kissed her.  
"So, you two are married in this dimension." Nagi said.  
"Actually, we're both married to Lord Tenchi." Aeka said.  
The other Aeka snorted in discust, "I for one am not the least bit surprised at what that  
Ryoko did. I always knew Ryoko was a monster."  
"Why you little stuck up whore! I'd never harm a hair on Tenchi's head. You on the  
other hand are the reason for him being put in the hospital last year." the other Ryoko   
shouted.  
The other Aeka was about to jump up and challenge that statement, but the sound of  
Khyone's blaster charging up stopped her in her tracks.  
"We will have peasce in his house, or else." Khyone said in a deadly tone.  
"Ya, um, what she said." Mihoshi said holding up her gun.  
"What vicious irony. In this dimension I'm a Galaxy cop, and an airhead bimbo on top  
of that." the evil Mihoshi grumbled rolling her eyes.  
"Hello, could somebody help me down the stairs." came the voice of Sakuya from the top  
of the stairs.  
The other Ryoko and Aeka recognized the voice instantly and their expressions turned  
icy.  
Tenchi got up and helped her walk down the stairs. Nagi looked at who it was and her  
eyes went wide, but the other Ryoko and Aeka just looked at the the girl with hatred in their   
eyes. They narrowed their eyes when they noticed she was very pregnant.  
"She is still alive in his dimension." Ryoko said with clenched teeth.  
"She is a visitor here just like you." Tenchi told her.  
"Who is the father?" the other Aeka asked in a venomous tone.  
"I am, or the Tenchi from her universe that is." he said.  
"Is Yugi awake in his universe?" Nagi asked.  
"No, Sakuya here comes from a universe were there is no Ryoko or Aeka, and my alternate  
self is her fiance." Tenchi said.  
"Besides, Yugi was never evil, just misunderstood." Tenchi continued.  
"Anybody who tries to seperate me and my Tenchi is evil in my book." the other Ryoko  
commented.  
Sakuya started to cry again. "I've never been so hated by so many people." she sobbed.  
"I don't hate you." Tenchi said touching he chin.  
"I just want to go home." she cried into her hands.  
"Now look what you did, your worse then my Ryoko and Aeka ever were in this universe.  
How does my alternate in your dimension stand it?" Tenchi snapped at them.  
The two women suddenly looked very frighttened of him. This the second time they reacted  
like this when he was angry. On inspiration he grabbed the other Aeka's arm and looked up  
her sleeve. She had large bruises on her arm. Ge checked the other Ryoko and found similar  
bruises. They looked at him like frightened rabbits, but their eyes still held some love in  
them. - Oh, my God. Not that, please not that. I could never do that. -  
"Those aren't from fighting Ryoko are they?" he asked the other Aeka.  
"No." the other Aeka said as a tear came down her face. "They are from you."  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Becasue I refused to be with you, him, one night." the other Aeka said.  
"Your Tenchi beats you?" he asked in horror.  
"Only when he's drunk, but any other time he's fine. The second he start thinking  
about her, Sakuya, it drives him to drink." Ryoko said.  
"I'm sorry." he said.  
"Don't, its not your fault...your different from the Tenchi we know. Sakuya's death   
killed him inside. It changed him." the other Ryoko said.  
"Why do you put up with it." the original Aeka asked.  
"Because I love him, and I want to try to save him. He can't control himself when he  
is drunk." the other Aeka said.  
  
It was now later in the day, Sasami was in the kitchen working on dinner with Kryton   
helping her. Ryu-Ohki and Ken-Ohki ran off together somewhere, and Tenchi went up to his  
room to think. Everything that happened today was all draining on him and he was so   
confused. First, Sakuya appears alive and pregnant, the other girls, the Mihoshi and the  
other version of himelf. What makes it worse is the the alternate Ryoko and Aeka are the  
vicitims of abuse by a Tenchi torn apart inside by the death of Sakuya. Was it possible for  
him to fall into that kind of depression and turn that way?  
Ryoko phased up through the floor and felt his sadness. She sat on the bed next to him  
and put her arm around him. Though their bond she felt his pain.  
"Are you alright, Tenchi?" she asked him.  
"No, after today I don't know if I ever will be again." he said.  
"Is it from seeing Sakuya again?" Ryoko asked.  
"Part of it, but its also part of what the other Ryoko and Aeka told me." he said.  
Ryoko felt a wave of sorrow and sadness come from him. Memories of Sakuya started to   
flicker in her mind as they leaked through his thoughts. The first kiss they shared, the  
first date they went on, and the day she died in his arms. "I love you with all my heart, but  
I can't get her out of my mind. There are too many sad memories." he said.  
Ryoko turned him around and kissed him on the lips. He put his arms around her and pull  
her to him. They lay back on the bed and exchanged several long kisses. Ryoko looked into his  
eyes and saw the pain was still there. She stood up next to him and look down at him on the  
bed.  
"Then let me help you make new happy memories." she said as her dress phased off her   
body and fell to the floor.  
Tenchi had seen Ryoko naked before, but this time was the first time she was this close  
to him. Normally he would have errupted into a severe nosebleed, but now all he could do was  
look at her and take in her awesome beauty. A desire for her suddenly welled up in him that was   
powerful, and he had no desire to fight it anymore. He reach out and pull her into his   
arms and layed her down on the bed next to him. She started to slowly unbutton his shirt   
front.  
"Help me forget, take away this pain in my heart." he pleaded in a whisper.  
"I'll try." she whispered and they embraced in a passonate kiss.  
  
Aeka blocked them out and knew what was happening. Only a short time ago the before   
their bonding she would have barged in on them to stop them. Now it was a different situation.  
She felt the pain in Tenchi's heart over everything he saw today. Ryoko was torn apart by the   
story of her alternate self killing him. It tore her apart. They needed this time together   
alone to heal each others hearts. Sakuya was sitting and rubbing her stomach. She stopped and   
held her hand on one spot and then smiled.  
"Come here." she said to Aeka.  
Aeka walked over to her. Sakuya took her hand and put it on her stomach. Aeka felt  
something inside move under her touch and then the thump of a tiny kick. She smiled.  
"What is it like, carrying a baby?" Aeka asked her.  
"Well, you can't carry anything heavy and you can't reach for things over your head."  
she said. "Your back constantly hurts, you throw up in the morning, you get these strange  
cravings for things like pickels and peanut butter sandwiches, and your feet swell up like   
water ballons." Aeka's eyes widened. "Then I guess you can't wait until this is all over."  
"No, this is the most wonderful experience of my life." Sakuya said.  
Aeka felt another tiny kick.  
"What does it feel like when the baby moves around inside of you?" she asks.  
"Its strange. I can feel her pushing on my stomach when she moves or kicks. I can  
feel when she is upset or hungry." Sakuya sid.  
"I think I may enjoy being a mother." Aeka said.  
"Its the most wonderful feeling in the world." Sakuya said smiling.  
  
Washu stood next to Prince Orrin and smiled up at him. His face was a mask of concern  
and worry. The image of the quantum rift had not changed all day. Very little progress was  
made in closing the rift either. Orrin punched up another set of equations he had been working  
on and looked them over. Washu was glad to have someone who was her intellectual equal to  
talk to for once. The equations were complex even for her, and Orrin was racing through them  
at lightning speed. He stopped at one point and looked over a certain section. He referenced   
a piece of data from the rift, and then looked back. He suddenly grimaced in rage, grabbed a   
small object off the table nearby and threw it at the holoscreen of the rift.  
"ARGH!!! This is not going to work!" he groaned.  
"What's wrong?" Washu asked.  
"The laws of physics inside the rift are changing constantly. These equations are  
useless the minute I calculate them." he said.  
Washu absently rubbed his shoulder and his back. It was a habit she had started back  
when they first began working on this problem. She walked around him and started to message  
his shoulders. He was tense and his muscles were drawn up tight. He needed to relax. Her  
messaging became more sensual.  
They labored for hours that day on this problem. She had held his hand at one moment,  
and he took hers the next. They almost kissed each other while crawling under some equipment  
to check the electronics, and since then they would stand together looking at their equations  
sometimes with his arm about her waist. She had even put her head on his shoulder at one   
point.  
Orrin closed his eyes and let her message him. It was a nice feeling, and she could  
feel his muscles starting to relax. She was still in her adult form, and she moved up against  
his back as she started to message down his chest. He could feel her soft round breasts  
pressing against his back. His breathing started to come in short quick intakes. Suddenly he   
spun around and grabbed her and kissed her. She let herself be pulled into a tight embrace and   
kissed him back. They stood there looking into each other's eyes for several minutes. After   
what seemed like an eternity, Orrin picked her up in his arms and started carrying her towards   
her bedroom.  
Orrin kissed her again more passionately than before.  
"Be gentle with me." she said before he closed the door to her bedroom behind them.  
__________  
Chapter 7 - Darkling Dawn  
  
Ryoko rested on top of Tenchi with her head on his chest and her fingers absently rubbing  
his shoulder. His hand was working magic though her hair, and her body was quivering from   
remembered ectasy. His other hand held her about the waist and his finger slowly rubbed arcoss  
her soft skin. Ryoko was tired, but she was in rapture because she made love with Tenchi for   
the first time and it had been everything she dreamed it would be and more.  
"If I'm dreaming I don't want to wake up." she said.  
"Neighter do I." he said.  
She turned her face up to his and accepted his kiss.  
"Tenchi?" she said.  
"Yes?" he said.  
"I want to, I want to have your baby, Tenchi." Ryoko said.  
Tenchi looked at her. "Are you sure?" he asked.  
"More than anything." she said.  
"It would mean alot of changes. No more flying, no more sake, and no more fighting."  
he said.  
"I would give all that up just for the chance." she said.  
"I love you." he told her as he hugged her tight.  
-- I know. -- she thought to him as they kissed.  
"Aeka wants the same thing. I felt it from her this morning." he said.  
"Tenchi. I guess I still have to get used to this sharing situation." she sighed.  
"This is the whole reason for the Great Bond, so we can be together with each other. We  
don't have to worry about hurt feelings because I love both of you, and I belong to both  
of you." he said.  
"I understnad that and it shows how much you love us. Its just that old habits die  
hard." she said.  
"I know, you two this morning were having a little too much fun in that mock argument."  
he said.  
"It was partially real." she admitted.  
"We've only been Bonded for a day. Things will get better with time." he said.  
He kissed her again and looked into her eyes.  
"And just because I took you to bed doesn't mean I love you anymore or any less than I   
love her. You both share an equal place in my heart." he said.  
She kissed him back and felt the love flow into her from their bond.  
"We don't deserve you." she said snuggling up into his arms.  
"No, you two are the best thing that ever happened to me." he said.  
"Your feelig better then, I take it?" she asked him.  
"No depressed feelings here. You always had that effect on me even when I was trying to  
run away from you half the time." he said.  
"Why did you keep running away from me?" she asked.  
"Becuase I was afraid if I didn't I'd never want to leave. That and I was a little  
intimidated by how open and free you were." he said.  
He replayed the image in his mind of the time they were in the hot spring. Ryoko saw  
herself from Tenchi's viewpoint. She was stark naked in front of him. Aeka jumped onto her  
about it and they started a slap fight. This was before Aeka called her mini-guardians, and   
she called that demon up that trashed the place. All the while she noticed that Tenchi's  
eyes kept straying back to her and her body.  
"You pervert." she giggled and gave him a playful slap.  
"What was I supposed to do, your were nude and totally gorgeous and there I was this  
teenage kid with raging hormones." he said.  
"While I was fighting Aeka you were oggling me." she said.  
"That was your whole point of going naked like that." he told her.  
"Yes, but I didn't expect you to really..look...at me." she said.  
"I though you were the most beautiful creature I ever laid my eyes on." he said.  
She looked up at him again. "Really?" she asked.  
"Really." he said.  
With that she pull herself up face to face with him and began to playfully smother him  
with kisses.  
  
Sasami called the family to dinner that night. The guests were invited to join in for  
dinner also. Washu and Orrin came out of the lab also. Ryoko noticed that her mother was  
almost literally glowing. She had a smile on her face and a strange gleam in her eye. It was  
similar to the gleam in her own eye and the glow that surrounded her. As they sat there  
enjoying dinner and talking she noticed her mother rub Orrin's leg from time to time, and Orrin  
put his hand on top of hers and caressed her fingers. Ryoko smiled to herself.  
-- What did you do, seduce him. -- she thought to her mother.  
-- Maybe I did and maybe I didn't. -- Washu thought back.  
-- You slept with him? -- Ryoko thought quessing the obvious.  
-- So, you slept with Tenchi. -- Washu thought in reply.  
-- That's different, mom. You just met this guy. -- Ryoko thought back.  
-- He reminds me of...him...from a long time ago. -- Washu thought.  
-- Oh, that's why. -- Ryoko though suddenly knowing who she meant.  
Dinner concluded without a mishap even though the other Ryoko and Aeka started a short-  
lived verbal fight that Tenchi quickly stopped. Kryton helped Sasami clear the tables, Washu  
and Orrin returned to the lab, and everyone else went to the living room to watch television.  
  
In the lab Orrin was taking some readings of the local area around the Masaki house when   
he noticed several strange sources of unknown energy patterns. At the same time, Kryton with   
Sasami and Ryu-Ohki in tow rushed into the lab. Sasami was surprised that the avitar moved so   
fast and that he didn't bothered to let her go when he ran. At least he picked me up instead   
of dragging me. They were in the kitchen doing the dishes when he got this strange far away   
look and then he looked at her and said, "I must tell, Prince Orrin!"  
"Sire, I am detecting several dozen ethereal signatures in the area, and they are closing  
on this location." he said.  
"I noticed. Can you tell if they are Darkling.?" he asked them.  
"Without a doubt sir, they are Darkling." Kryton said.  
Orrin walked up to Washu and gave her a kiss. Sasami's eyebrow went up in a manner  
similar to a certain Vulcan on a certain TV show.  
"This is it. Lets get the others." he said.  
"Their coming, now?" Washu asked him.  
"Yes, right now!" he said as he ran for the door.  
  
They burst out of the lab at a run. Orrin ran to the windows and started pulling down  
the blinds. Orrin yelled for everyone to get back from the windows. Tenchi and Ryoko leapt to  
their feet and demanded that Washu tell them what was going on.  
"The Darklings are coming right now." she said.  
"This is not good." Tenchi said as he readied the Tenchi-ken.  
Tenchi quickly looked over the room. The Mihoshi from another dimension seemed willing  
to help in the fight to come. Nagi from the Galaxy Police was loading a new charge clip into  
her blaster, as was the regular Mihoshi and Khyone. The other Aeka and Ryoko were limbering  
up for a fight. The other Tenchi seemed to be interested in just hiding, and Sakuya was  
starting to get scared. "Tenchi, you, get her into the lab and keep your heads donw." Tenchi  
told the other Tenchi. The other Tenchi wanted to help out but the fear was getting the  
better of him. He helped Sakuya stand up and he lead her to the door of Washu's lab as quickly  
as she was able to make herself walk.  
"Good move, they should be safe in there." Ryoko told him.  
"Whatever happens next, Lord Tenchi, remember that I will always love you." she said   
before they kissed each other.  
"They have stopped. They are maintaining a distance of one quarter mile from the house."  
Kryton said.  
"What exactly are these Darklings?" the other Mihoshi asked.  
"The worse threat to all life the universe has ever known." Orrin said.  
"Why are they holding back?" Ryooko asked.  
"Because of this." Orrin said as he held up the sword hilt that Washu had examined  
earlier in the lab.  
"I was wondering what that was for?" Washu asked him.  
"This is the last and greatest of the inventions of the Elo'Quin. Its called the Star  
Gem Sword, and its the only thing that the Darkness truely fears." he said.  
"Why?" Tenchi asked.  
"Because, according to the legends of the Elo'Quin this sword will one day play a part  
in the destruction of the Darkness." Orrin replied.  
"Do you believe the legend?" Aeka asked him.  
"My finding and using the power of the sword is in the legend. You see, I am the  
choosen champion of the Elo'Quin. My destiny is to one day ascend in power to become what  
they call the Guardian of Light. Once that happens I will posssess the power to destroy the  
Darkness forever." he said.  
  
Several hours passed and it was midnight. Noboyuki sat on the couch half asleep with  
as very frightened Sasmai. Yosho sat in the middle of the floor in meditation preparing for   
the battle ahead. The rest of them were just standing around or walking around waiting for  
something to happen.  
"Any change?" Orrin asked Kryton.  
"No, sire." the avitar shook his head.  
"What are they waiting for?" Ryoko asked.  
"They know I'm here, and it might be confusing them." Orrin said.  
"Did these Darklings come from your universe?" the other Ryoko asked.  
"No, more likely they've been here looking for Elo'Quin that might have come here." Orrin  
replied.  
"Do they usually act like this?" Tenchi asked him.  
"No, in fact they should have attacked by now." he said.  
"Then something is wrong." Washu said.  
Orrin suddenly whirled to Kryton. "Kryton, scan all local subspace in and around the  
house!"  
"Scanning. I have ten Darkling signatures approaching fromt he northeast at a distance  
of 50 meters and closing!" Kryton replied.  
"Shit! I should have known! Darklings have the power to traverse into subspace to  
travel undetected!" Orrin exclaimed.  
"They are not approaching the main part of the house, they seemed to be heading for  
Little Washu's laboratory." Kryton added.  
"Sakuya!" Tenchi shouted and he ran for the door to the lab.  
The second he grabbed the door knob he received a severe electric shock. "Ahhh!!!" he  
shouted as he was thrown from the door.  
"Tenchi!" all four girls, the original and the alternate Ryoko and Aeka both screamed.  
"They put a ethereal force field on the door!" Orrin exclaimed.  
"How? We were just standing here!" Ryoko exclaimed.  
"We, we have to get her out of there!" Tenchi yelled as the girls picked him up.  
"Get out of the way!" Orrin yelled as he ignited the blade of the StarGem Sword.  
The blue energy blade snapped into existance with a loud sound like a Star Wars light-  
saber. Orrin plunged the blade into the force field at the door, and the barrier instantly  
disolved. Tenchi was the first one through the door with Tenchi-ken in hand. They found  
the other Tenchi and Sakuya chatting with each other under a tree in the garden on the other  
side of Washu's lab.  
"What's going on? Is it over?" she asked Tenchi as he ran up to them.  
"Get down!" he yelled at them.  
Suddenly, ten forms began to materialize inside the lab. Tenchi ignited the blade os his  
sword and took a battle stance. He put on the ring he got from Aeka and in a flash he was  
garbed in Juraian battle gear. Orrin was soon at his side with the StarGem Sword at the ready.  
"To kill a Darkling you must take its head. Nothing else." he told him.  
"That sounds too easy." Tenchi said.  
"Its not, you'll see." Orrin said.  
The forms manifested into creatures that looked more suited to a nightmare than real  
life. They stood no taller than a man, and they seemed to be humanid in shape. That was where  
the similaries ended and hideousness of their appearance began. Their bodies were covered in a  
shiny, black armor that had a groteque organic appearance. Their heads were elongated with  
flat faces that almost human but were horrificly twisted with a mouth filled with long, sharp  
teeth. All down their backs ran two rows of sharp spins, and on each shoulder were sharp  
boney spikes. Their arms were long and ended with hands that had sharp claws, and on their  
wrists were four sharp hock-look blades of black bone. Their legs were reverse articulated  
like a bird and ended with a large three toed foot that had sharp claws and a single sharp  
blade-like claw on the first toe that looked like it could disembowel a man in seconds. On  
each of their backs the Darklings had large black leathery wings. Two small horns protruded  
out of their heads and appeared to be made of crystal. Their eyes were red and glowing with  
an evil light.  
"Oh my God." Ryoko said when she first saw them.  
Sakuya was screaming histericly at this point.  
"Great Tsunami, protect us." Aeka breathed.  
  
The Darkling that appeared to be the leader of the group looked over the defenders with  
some amusement. This was going to be an interesting mission for him and his subordinates. His  
eyes fell up on Orrin and the sword and he almost reacted. The sword was Elo'Quin, no, it was  
THE sword. How did it get to this dimension? No matter, it would seen be in their hands. He  
sent a telepathic message to his nine other warriors to start searching the lab for what they  
were sent to find. He would deal with these personally.  
  
The other creatures did not seem interested in fighting, and they soon teleport away to  
different parts of the lab. One was left and it started to advance on them. Khyone and  
Mihoshi fired shots into the creature, but their weapons were mondane technology and did no  
harm to it at all. Realizing they were powerless in this fight, the two women ran behind the  
rest who did possess magical fighting abilities. Aeka summoned her mini-guardians with the   
Power of Jurai and changed into her battle gear. Ryoko summoned the power of her gems and  
transformed into her space pirate battlesuite. Tenchi concentrated and summon forth the Light  
Hawk Wings. Orrin tapped a control on his wrist and his body was suddenly enveloped in a  
suite of power-armor. The material emerged from the stange seam that ran along the back of his  
clothing that Washu had examined. Washu summoned her energy sword and determined that she was  
not going stay out of this fight and let these things trash her lab.  
  
"I smell the stench of Elo'Quin magic." the creature said in a voice that sounded like  
hundreds of tormented souls.  
"Why are you here?" Orrin demanded.  
"Its of no concern of yours. Your deaths are all you nned to be concern over." and with  
that the creature attacked.  
The attack came in a form of an invisible force that hurled all of them from their feet  
and sent them flying. Ryoko, who could fly, recovered instantly and rushed the beast. Just as  
she was about to strike its shoulder with her sword the Darkling raised its hand ans she was  
snared in a spherical force field.  
"A fascinating creature, and beautiful." it said.  
"Ryoko!" Tenchi screamed.  
"Ryoko is your name, my lovely. Perhaps I will keep you as a pet." the Darkling said.  
"If you live long enough!" Ryoko exclaimed as she slashed at the shield.  
Tenchi rushed the Darkling at that moment, the only thought on his mind was to save the  
woman he loved, but he was suddenly struck my an invisible force that send him tumbling away.  
At that moment Orrin joined the fight. He focused on the area of space behind the  
Darkling and called up on one of the rare powers of his species...line of sight teleportation.  
In an instant he winked out and materialized behind the Darkling. Before the creature realized  
what was happening Orrin's sword took its head. The monster streached as its body suddenly  
disolved in a blast of green glowing mist. Ryoko hit the ground as the force field winked out  
of existance. The other Darklings saw their commander go down and a vicious battle suddenly  
ensued.  
Tenchi quickly discovered what Orrin had meant about it being hard to kill Darklings.  
The creatures were using psychic attacks to knock him around and throw him away when he  
attacked them. The power of the Light Hawk Wings protected him from getting seriously hurt   
when he slammed into machinery or the floor. He managed to behead on of the creatures when  
Aeka distracted it with a blast from her mini-guardians. The other Aeka and Ryoko worked well  
as a team together. The other Aeka would use her shield and power of her mini-guardians to  
catch a Darkling off guard long enough for the other Ryoko to fly in and take its head. Orrin  
resisted the psychic attacks of the creatures with his own psychic abilties and the powers  
afforded him by the StarGem Sword. Tenchi and Aeka became seperated when one of Washu's  
devices exploded after a Darkling they were fighting threw an energy ball into it. Aeka ran up  
to the monster and blasted it with her mini-guardians. The creature reeled on its feet from  
the blast, but quickly recovered itself. It advanced on her and delivered a powerful kick to  
her stomach that sent to flying into a wall. Tenchi saw her go down and he screamed her name  
at the top of his lungs. The monster turned towards the source of the noise just in time to  
deflect Tenchi's sword blow with its wrist blades. They exchanged blade seipes for several   
minutes until Tenchi buried the blade of Tenchi-Ken into the Darkling's chest. The sword was  
magical and its power caused the creature to scream in agony with a sound that totally inhuman.  
With that Tenchi withdrew the sword and smartly beheaded it. He ran to Aeka who was laying   
on the ground holding her stomach in pain. Tenchi slowly picked her up and cradled her in  
his arms. Aeka was not moving and her eyes were closed. A wave of terror went over him and he  
lost his grip on keeping the Light Hawk Wings deployed.  
-- Oh, god, please don't die on me! -- he thought to her.  
Aeka opened her eyes and looked up at him.  
-- I will never leave you. -- she thought back.  
-- Don't scare me like that! -- he thought as he hugged her closer.  
-- I'm sorry, my love. -- she though in rely.  
-- Let me get you out of here. -- he thought as he stood up with her in his arms.  
At that moment two of the five remaining Darklings in the lab jumped them. They threw  
energy balls at them from their clawed hands, but they splashed off the protective shield  
generated by his White Hawk Wings which he summoned back into existance. Seeing them in  
danger, Yosho, who had been trying to keep Sakuya calmed down the other Tenchi's help, jumped  
in and took one Darkling down with a roundhouse kick. His attacks were enforced by his use  
of the power of Jurai and they felt like blows from a sledgehammer to the Darklings.  
"Grandpa!" Tenchi yelled and threw the Tenchi-Ken to him.  
Yosho caught the sword in mid-air, ignited it, and quickly beheaded two of the monsters.  
The third creature was stabbed from behind by the other Ryoko and Yosho easily finished it  
off. The fight was now almost over from what Tenchi could see. Orrin was facing off one last  
creature in another part of the lab with Washu at his side. They lunged at the monster with  
their swords swinging. Washu took off one of the creature's wings, and then Orrin lobbed off  
its head. With the defeat of the last Darkling the fight was now over and everyone collapsed  
to the floor in exhaustion. Tenchi looked at his watch and was shocked to find that the fight  
had lasted for nearly and hour and a half. It was then that he also noticed that Kryton was  
not with them, and neighter was Sasami.  
Aeka started to groan and she held her stomach wincing in pain. Throught their link he  
could tell she was in great distress.  
"Your hurt. Washu, Aeka's hurt!" he yelled.  
"No need to yell, I'm right here." sbe said at his side.  
"One of them kicked her pretty hard." he said.  
Washu ran a scanner over her and whistled.  
"She's got a ruptured spleem. Lets get her to the regeneration tank." she said.  
"Your not putting me in that thing." Aeka said.  
"You don't have much of a choice, your bleeding to death on the inside." Washu told her.  
"How long?" Tenchi asked Washu.  
"An hour should do it." she said.  
"Well, if its just an hour." Aeka said.  
"I love you." Tenchi said to her.  
Aeka nuzzled in his arms. "I love you too." she said.  
  
When Washu and Tenchi were seeing to Aeka, Orrin rushed outside to find out where  
Kryton was. He found the avitar and the little girl standing in the living room. The child,  
Sasami, was holding the avitar's hand and looking out of a large hole in the side of the  
wall leading outside. There were eight green, smoking puddles laying on the floor at the  
avitar's feet.  
"You've been busy." he said.  
"They attacked as soon as you disappeared into Little Washu's lab." Kryton said.  
"Are you both alright?" Orrin asked them.  
"Kryton protect me." Sasami said hugging the avitar's arm.  
"I never pictured you as the fatherly type." Orrin said jokingly.  
"I'm used to it being around you. I've had lots of practice." the avitar said.  
"Ha, ha, ha, ha." Orrin said.  
Tenchi and the rest except for Washu and Aeka came out of the lab. Tenchi looked at the  
damage in the room and his mind immediately thought of Sasami. He was suddenly put at ease  
when she ran up to him and jumped into his arms.  
"Oh, Tenchi it was incredible. There monsters crashed throught the wall, and Kryton's  
arms turned into a sword, and he fought them to protect me." she said excitedly.  
"I owe you more than you can imagine." Tenchi said to the avitar.  
"It was my pleasure, sir. Darklings are such vile creatures." Kryton said.  
"These were just first stage Darklings. They are sort of a larve stage for the  
Darkness." Orrin said.  
"You mean we were fighting babies!" the other Ryoko exclaimed.  
"Actually, more like newly infected hosts. I'd say from their power levels they were  
infected for about six months or so." Orrin said.  
"What are the other stages?" Tenchi asked.  
"There are three stages, and you do not want to face a stage three Darkling. I did  
once and I barely got away with my life." he said.  
"I detect no further ethereal signatures in the area that are Darkling in nature." said  
Kryton.  
"And the rift?" Orrin asked him.  
"Still in place, sire." the avitar said.  
"Damn." Orrin breathed.  
"So much for small miracles." Yosho commented.  
Noboyuki crawled out from hehind what was left of the living room couch and looked up  
at everyone a bit wide eyed.  
"Is it safe to come out yet?"  
  
A dark figure looked down on the Masaki house with some displeasure, but it did not  
feel disappointment at the failed mission of its minions. It was not surprised at their   
failure as it appeared the residence of the house possess magical abilities, and someone  
with Elo'Quin magic was in the house also. This defeat was not the end however, it was just  
a temporary setback it decided. The dark figure stood there watching for several minutes  
and then it teleported away.  
  
Orrin went back to the lab to finish his work with Washu just as she was done putting the  
princess into the regeneration tank. This thing is getting alot of use today, she thought.  
Orrin walked up to her and put his arms arund her waist from behind. She smiled as she keyed  
in the sequence to start the regenerative process that would heal Aeka's internal injuries.  
With that done she turns around in his grasp and kisses him.  
"Will she be alright?" he asked.  
"Aeka's tough, she will pull through." Washu said.  
"The rift is still in place." Orrin said.  
"I noticed." Washu replied looking at the holodisplays.  
"This is day one. We have nine more to go." he said.  
"We need to double our efforts here." she told him.  
"Agreed. And, I may have an idea." he said.  
"Oh, what is that?" she asked.  
"Have you ever heard of dark matter?" he asked her.  
  
Ryoko fell asleep and was leaning on Tenchi's shoulder. They were all in the living  
room talking about the night's battle and making sure everyone was alright. Sasami was  
worried about Aeka, but Tenchi told her that her sister was in Washu's capable hands. His  
attention turned to Sakuya who was munching on some carrot sticks. She still have that a  
doe eyed and frightened look on her face, but she was feeling much better. Ryu-Ohki in toddler  
form was watching her with a sad little face. Sakuya look at her, looked at the carrot sticks  
she had, and offered the little cabbit-girl some. Ryu-Ohki's face suddenly lite up and she  
danced around the room. This made Sakuya laugh, and Tenchi decided he would have to find some  
way to thank Ryu-Ohki for that.  
"Well, we have sleeping bags in the closet over there." he said pointing down the hall  
leading towards the kitchen and back door.  
"I'll get them." Sassai said.  
"I'd better sleeping beauty upstair." he said lifting Ryoko in his arms.  
"Good night, Lord Tenchi." the other Aeka said.  
"Good night." he said.  
"I am keeping my scanners peeled for more...intruders, sire." Kryton told him.  
"Thanks." he said.  
Tenchi took Ryoko to her bedroom and laid her down. He covered her in the blanket and  
kissed her forehead. He went to his bedroom, plopped down on the bed and promptly fell   
asleep.  
  
Tenchi woke up feeling something on top of him. Someone was leaning over him on his  
bed and the fingers of a small hand were running through his hair. He opened his eyes and   
looked into a pair of beautiful lavender eyes and a pair of purple ponytails. He reached up  
and touched Aeka's face, she smiled and put her hand over his. He had been so worried about  
her that night that he had been dreaming about her. A sudden terrifying thought came to his  
mind.  
"Which one are you?" he asked her.  
-- Which one do you think? -- she thought back.  
Tenchi sighed with relief, and embraced her.  
"Just being careful." he said.  
"Good for you. We have a mental bond so I don't want to hear about any mistaken   
identities." she said with a half smile half smirk.  
"There is another Tenchi in the hosue." he reminded her.  
"Oh, ha ha." she said.  
This has been the closest he has ever been to Princess Aeka in all the time she had  
been here on Earth. There was the time at that one picnic, and the times they walked hand-in-  
hand on their dates, but that was it. This was his first chance to really be close to her,  
and he had only just partially noticed just how beautiful she really was. She was more  
petite than Ryoko, dressed far more conservatively, and just like Ryoko she wore no make-up.  
Aeka was one of those women who did not have to wear make-up to look beautiful, however, he  
noted. Tenchi pulled her to him and kissed her for a long moment.  
-- We have an hour before sunrise. -- she thought to him.  
-- I won't spend it with anyone else. -- he thought back.  
Aeka crawled up into the bed next to him and they layed their in each other's arms for  
several minutes exchanging kisses. Thoses kisses increased until Tenchi found himself kissing  
her down her neck. Aeka was quivering with the sensation, and she gave a very soft moan only  
loud enough for him to hear.  
He leaned up on his arm, reached out, and started to untie the wrappings of Aeka's  
kimono. Slowly he undressed her and she slowly started to lossen his shirt front. Before  
long they were under the covers. The touch of their skin against each other was an over-  
whelmingly strong sensation and it made them drunk with ecstacy. The world seemed to blur and  
fade out of existance so they were the only ones withing a void created just for them. As the  
light of the sun began to drift into the room the two lovers collapsed into each others arms  
breathing heavily and exhausted. Aeka's body was quivering and shaking from the experience,  
and she started to cry.  
"What's wrong?" Tenchi asked her with concern.  
"I have never been as happy as I am right at this moment." she said hugging him.  
"I want you to be happy." he told her.  
"Oh, Tenchi, I have dreamed of this since we first met." she admitted to him.  
"It might have happened sooner, but that would have really complicated things." he said  
and projected the memory of their first date at the picnic.  
"Yes it would have." she said.  
"I have never seen you without your clothes on before." he told her.  
"How do I compare to Ryoko?" she asked leaning up on one arm.  
Tenchi suddenly felt trapped by those beautiful lavender eyes and tried to think of an  
answer. Sensing his discomfort through their link, Aeka crawled out of bed and stood in front  
of him stark naked. "Maybe this can help you decide." she said, and a little bit of crimson  
touched her cheeks.  
Tenchi sat up in bed and looked at her and he was in awe. She was every bit as beautiful  
as Ryoko was. He felt so lucky not only to have two women who loved him so much, but also two  
women who could easily put any super model on Earth to shame.  
Aeka took a slightly seductive pose she had learned to watching Ryoko flurt with Tenchi.  
The effect was awe inspiring.  
"Wow." he said.  
"Wow. Is that all I get is just a little...wow." she said angrily.  
"Uh, well, what I mean is..uh..oh boy." he said.  
Aeka walked up to him, pushed him back onto the bed and stradled him. The same smile  
that she smiles when zapping Ryoko came to her face.  
"Uh, Aeka?" he asked a little worried.  
"It appears you need a little more convinceing." she said with that same evil smile.  
"Your starting to freak me out." he said.  
"Gooooood." she said leaning down and she started to kiss him.  
"Oh, that kind of convincing." he said and put his arms around her.  
They kissed each other for several minutes, and Tenchi hands roved around a bit to places  
of interested on her body.  
"Convinced yet." she asked.  
He made a face as if thinking really hard, then he said. "I'll have to take it up with  
a committee."  
"A committee, you...you!" she said and started lightly punching him.  
The two giggled as they play fought and then Tenchi started tickling her sides. Aeka  
wiggled and started laughing aloud.  
"NO...STOP...I'M TICKLISH THERE....STOP!" she shouted.  
"Make me." he giggled.  
"Oh, is that how your going to be is it?" she said and she started to feel around his  
body looking for tickle points.  
Tenchi held a straight face through all of it.  
"Your ticklish somewhere, Lord Tenchi, and I will find it." she said smiling at him.  
"Be my guest." he said calmly.  
Aeka stopped, looked down at him, and lunged for his feet. Tenchi tried to pull away  
from her but it was too late. She pulled off his socks and started tickling his feet. Tenchi  
writhed as his body was overwhelmed with laughter.  
"HAHAHAHAHA....STOP....STOP...HAHAHAHA....I GIVE....I GIVE...UNCLE....UNCLE!!" he  
shouted.  
Aeka shifted back to her strading position, looked at him with those lavender eyes and  
batted him at him. "Now, give me your anweer."  
He sat up with her sitting facing him in his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She  
peered into his eyes and he felt as if he could remain in this gaze forever.  
"My answer is this." he said and he kissed her with his most passionate kiss he could  
muster. When they parted, Aeka caught her breath and looked into his eyes. "Good answer."  
"A-hum!" came a voice from the middle of the room.  
The two looked down to see Ryoko standing halfway out of the bedroom floor.  
"Sasami knocked on your door ten minutes ago. Breakfast is ready and they are all  
waiting for you." she said with a sly smile on her face.  
"I'm sorry, I guess we were too busy to hear her." Tenchi said.  
"I'm sure you were." she said. "Oh, nice butt princess."  
"Uh, you!" Aeka said and threw her bra at Ryoko who phased down through the floor before  
it hit.  
"She has a point." Tenchi said.  
"About what?" Aeka asked.  
"You do have a nice butt." he said.  
Tenchi raised his arms to block Aeka's fake punches again which quickly turned into   
kisses again.  
______________  
End of Chapter Seven...  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic please send me an email to zorch@the-zorch.com, subject line  
"TM Fan Fic". Coming up next in The Dark Lord of Jurai Saga, Episode One: Chapter 8 -   
A short Holiday, and Chapter 9 - Dark Matter. These are going to be extra long special  
chapters so stay tuned! 


	5. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Chap...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Previously in our story...  
  
Things got very complicated at the Masaki household. Another   
Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko appear and sparks literally fly. An evil   
Mihoshi who acts like Nagi, and a Nagi that acts like Khyone also arrive   
with a friendly version of Ken-Ohki. Worst of all, the alternate eality  
Aeka and Ryoko reveal that their Tenchi beats them when he gets drunk,   
to try and forget Sakuya, and Nagi tells them that Ryoko in her universe   
murdered Tenchi at his and Aeka's wedding. Orrin becomes frustrated   
that he cannot help close the rift to save Earth, and a romance between   
him and Washu blossoms. Later, a force of Darklings attacked Washu's   
lab and the gang with the aid of their alternate reality counterparts   
barely win the battle. With this first round won the family tries to   
catch their breath....but not for very long.  
__________  
Chapter 8 - A Short Holiday (Extended Edition)  
  
The sun shined through the windows into Tenchi's bedroom and   
reflected off of Aeka's beautiful lavender eyes. Tenchi could drift in   
that gaze all day, but there were thing to be done. The two lovers   
shared a final kiss before dressing themselves and meetng the rest of  
the family and visitors downstairs for breakfast. They were met by   
Ryoko at the bottom of the stairs who just smiled at them. Before the   
three of them married in the ancient Juraian ritual called the Great   
Bond she would have had a problem with Tenchi and Aeka having a little  
fun in the morning. Now it was different becasue he belonged to both of   
them, and their bond allowed them to share thoughts, dreams, feelings,   
and memories. Emperor Azusa of Jurai married Misaki and Fonaho in the   
same manner.  
Noboyuki was beaming at his son, knowing full well the reason why   
they were both late for breakfast this morning. Tenchi took his seat   
next to Ryoko and Aeka sat next to him. In front of them were the Ryoko   
and Aeka from an alternate universe, followed by Sakuya and an alternate   
reality Tenchi. Noboyuki and Yosho sat on the other side facing Prince   
Orrin and Washu who sat together very close. Sasami, Ryu-Ohki in   
toddler form, and Sakuya sat at one corner of the table cloest to Washu.   
Khyone and Mihoshi sat with Galaxy Police Detective Nagi and dreaded   
bounty hunter Mihoshi at the other corner close to Yosho.  
"Good of you two to join us." Yosho said with a smile.  
"Oh, leave the young...man...alone." Noboyuki said putting some force on the word  
"man". Visions of grandchildren were dancing around in his head.  
"Dad." Tenchi said and Aeka blushed furiously. She knew how Tenchi's father was and knew why he said what he said. Tenchi put his   
arm around her and she sighed.  
Ryoko nudged Tenchi in the ribs with her elbow and he put her arms around her also.  
"Its so nice to see a young...man...and his two young brides in love." Noboyuki said.  
"Uh, hello, little girl at the table." Tenchi said.  
They all looked at Sasami who was hiding her face which was red as   
a beet.  
-- Its hard for an innocent little girl to stay innocent in this   
place. -- Ryoko thought.  
-- Don't you dare go teaching her anything too early. -- Aeka   
thought a warning.  
-- I won't. She just needs to hang out more with Tenchi's Dad. --   
Ryoko thought back.  
-- I heard that. -- Tenchi thought.  
In her thoughts Ryoko giggled and Aeka sighed in a very frustrated   
tone.  
  
Breakfast was very good as usual since Sasami was the master chief   
of the house. She was proud of the fact that her cooking made everyone   
happy. The alternate reality Tenchi, Aeka, Ryoko, and Nagi all gave her   
compliments. The alternate reality Mihoshi just kept quiet, but she did   
eat. To herself the bounty hunter thought this was the best meal she   
has eaten in a long time.  
"We might have a solution to the rift." Washu spoke up.  
"That's great." Mihoshi said, the original one that is.  
"Its not going to be easy either. In fact, it could be very, very   
dangerous." Orrin said.  
"Danger seems to be in great supply nowadays." Tenchi observed.  
"There are two things that could occur when we try to close the   
rift. One, it will explode creating a massive gravity wave that will   
force the moon to crash into the Earth in less than one day, or the rift   
could close and the moon will resume its normal orbit." Washu said.  
"Nothing is ever easy is it?" Khyone asked.  
"Except for one thing that is." Noboyuki said smiling at Tenchi   
and his two brides.  
"This is serious Dad." Tenchi said blushing.  
"How are you going to close the rift?" Yosho asked.  
"By injecting what is called Dark Matter into the rift." Washu   
said.  
"What's Dark Matter?" Mihoshi asked.  
Washu summoned her holopad in front of her and punched in a few   
commands. A holoscreen appeared above the breaktable. The image was of   
deep space and a field of stars.  
"Out in space there are innert pockets of material left over from   
the creation of the universe. These pockets of matter are literally   
invisible, they give off no visible light, and they do not reflect   
light, but they are there. Its invisible because its slightly out of  
phase with the rest of the universe and partially exists in subspace. I   
guess you could call them icebergs in the sea of space, haha." Washu   
said.  
"How will that close the rift?" Ryoko asked.  
"Dark matter has certain unique properties. Those properties   
react to neutralize anything that is a quantum anomily." Orrin said.  
"We are hoping that the right amount will force the rift to close,   
but if we calculate the wrong amount. BOOM!" Washu said.  
"So, we need to be precise. Thus, it will take us four days to   
calculate the correct mix, and a fifth day to collect the right amount   
of dark matter." Orrin said.  
"So, during those four days the lab will be off limits, and this   
means you Mihoshi. "Washu said pointing to the blonde Galaxy   
Policewoamn.  
"Ok." Mihoshi says smiling and blushing a bit.  
"In the meantime, to take their minds off all of this why not   
think of something you can have everyone do for the next four days."   
Washu says to Tenchi.  
"I think I can think of something. Where will you get the Dark   
Matter?" Tenchi asked.  
"We'll need to go into space for it. We can take Kryton since his   
ystems are all regenerated now." Orrin said.  
"What could we do for four days?" Ryoko asked Tenchi winking at   
him.  
Tenchi blushed furiously at the thought, even though he and Ryoko   
had already had their own little encounter.  
"Say, wasn't today originally supposed to be the day you were   
taking Ryoko to that dance?" Khyone asked Tenchi.  
"Yes, it was. I almost forgot about that with everything that was   
going on." he said.  
"I forgive you." Ryoko said squeezing his arm.  
"It was a dance for the Winter Festival in town. We could all   
go." Tenchi said.  
"I don't dance." said the other Mihoshi.  
"I'm sure Tenchi would like to dance with us." the other Ryoko   
said looking at the other Tenchi who suddenly turned red.  
"I heard they will have ice skating." Sasami said.  
"That sounds very romantic." Aeka said nuzzling into Tenchi's   
shoulder.  
Ryoko put her head on Tenchi's other shoulder. "I get the first   
dance, don't I Tenchi." she said softly.  
"Well, this was supposed to be the night of our date." he said.  
"Doesn't our situation change all of that?" Aeka asked.  
"Well, yes, it does in a way." he said and he   
could..feel...tension growing between Aeka and Ryoko through their link.   
They were going to fight again if he didn't step in.  
"Girls, your my wives now and I don't want to you two fighting   
over me anymore. I belong to both of you now. You both won." he said.  
"Tenchi, I could have stopped you and Ryoko yesterday, but I   
didn't." Aeka said.  
"And, I could have stopped you and Aeka this morning, but I   
didn't." Ryoko said.  
"If you're not going to fight over that, then why over a first   
dance?" he asked.  
"Old habits die hard." Aeka said reciting Ryoko's own words she   
had spoken after she and Tenchi made love for the first time.  
Tenchi sighed. "Well I want them dead. You two have nothing to   
fight over anymore." he said.  
"Yes, Tenchi, dear." the two women said in unison.  
  
Khyone leaned in towards Yosho and whispered, "I am so glad he's   
finally standing up to them like this."  
"I knew that he would." he whispered back.  
  
"What if those things come back?" Sakuya asked in a frightened   
voice.  
"They will more likely sit back and observe us. They know we cna   
defend outselves now. They will not be so eager for another encounter."   
Orrin said.  
"Is there a chance they will attack?" Tenchi asked.  
"Anything is possible, but if they do you will have the advantage   
because you know their weakness now." Orrin said. "But, do not   
underestimate them either. These Darkling were young and not in full   
control of their powers yet."  
After a few minutes of silence Tenchi speaks up, "Then we goto the   
festival tonight."  
  
Breakfast was over and Tenchi headed off for school. His wives   
met him at the door and he kissed them both goodbye. They watched him   
vanish into the woods that lead to the bus stop. In his bookbag carried   
with him a hand written letter from his grandfather explaining why he   
missed school yesterday. Tenchi was walking up the sidewalk to the   
school when he read the letter and froze.  
"Grandpa!" he shouted.  
The letter was an explanation that Tenchi got engaged and that he   
pent the whole day with his bride to be. The letter also explained that   
most of that day was spent at the shrine in prayer with his fiance.   
-Great, now the whole school was going to find out. It was bad enough   
that they know about the girls, but now this. Why me? - Tenchi   
wondered if his grandfather got a little bit of a morbid humor out of   
seeing him skwurm when he did things like this. A stange thought   
through his link with the girls suddenly made him realize that this was   
all their idea. He heard two girlish giggles in the back of mind and   
the words of Recardo Montoban echoed in his head from far away.....  
"Revenge is a dish best served cold..."   
-- I said it before, and I'll say it again. I created a pair of   
monsters. -- he thought to them both. There were more giggles.  
  
Orrin sat with Washu on is lap looking over the equations needed   
to calculate the correct amount of dark matter they would need. The   
computations were the most complex that Washu had ever seen, and she had   
seen some complex mathmatical strings before. It took five minutes for   
the screen to scroll though the entire string of computations.  
"This will take four days." he said.  
"Its very complex." Washu commented.  
"It has to be." Orrin said.  
Washu kissed him softly.  
"It will be much better with you here." she said.  
"Likewise." he said returning her kiss.  
When they parted Orrin looked into her eyes and decided now was   
the time to discuss a very difficult subject...his eventual departure.  
"Washu, you realize that once the rift is repaired, I..." he tried   
to say, but Washu put a finger over his mouth.  
"I know you will be leaving. Lets deal with it when that time comes." she said.  
"Its going to be hard leaving you." Orrin admitted touching her   
face.  
"Oiur destinies travel in different directions. We are just at a   
crossroads right now." Washu said with a small tear in her eye.  
Orrin held her close and they kissed again, long and passionately.   
"Lets just enjoy the time we have left, and save the world at the same   
time." said Washu when they parted lips.  
  
Tenchi's day in school was not what he thought it would be, it was   
much worse. The teacher in his first class thought it appropriate to   
announce his "engagment" to the class. This immediately prompted all   
the girls to start asking him questions. They knew about the women who   
lived with him too, just as well as the boys. By midday he was tired,   
and headed for the roof to collect his thoughts. He was not surprised   
to find Ryoko sitting waiting for him, and was a little relieved to have   
her around to talk with in the cold air of the day.  
"Hey. Hope we didn't cause you too much grief." she said with a   
smile.  
"I had it coming." he said.  
"Don't pull rank like that again, sweetheart." she said and kissed   
him.  
Tenchi could hear some muffled voices and was suddenly in a panic.   
If they saw him with her on the roof who knows what rumors might race   
through the school. Two figured climbed up onto the roof, and Tenchi   
froze. It was a young man and a girl. The man was one of Tenchi's   
classmates, and the girl was a cute thing he saw from time to time in   
the hallway. They were walking hand in hand. They saw Tenchi and Ryoko   
and walked over.  
"Hey, Tenchi. Is that her? She sure is a hottie." the teen said.  
"Yea, this is her. Makoto, meet Ryoko, my, uh, fiance." Tenchi   
said.  
"Hi, I'm Aeiko, Makoto's girlfriend." the young girl said.  
"How long have you know each other?" Makoto asked.  
"Years." Tenchi and Ryoko said in unison. They looked at each   
other and laughed.  
"Say, I heard you have a bunch of girls living in your house.   
What's up with that?" Aeiko asked.  
"Uh, well, you see..." Tenchi was about to say, but Ryoko suddenly   
put her two cents in.  
"They're all Tenchi's cousins. They are a very close family." she   
said.  
"Wow! All the guys think they're there because they've got the   
hots for you." Makoto laughed.  
"Ya. Funny its it." Tenchi laughed.  
-- Good save. Maybe that will take the heat off. -- he thought to   
Ryoko.  
-- I think you squirmed enough for one day. -- Ryoko thought.  
They sat there the rest of the break period talking, and then the   
two couples parted with a kiss. Tenchi didn't feel awkward kissing   
Ryoko in public anymore after what she said to Makoto. Now word will   
travel around school that the girls were a part of his family. That   
should get them all off his back for a while. In some ways, he thought,   
Ryoko had told the truth...they were his family.  
  
That afternoon Tenchi came home to the loving embrace of his two   
brides at the front door. A happy Sasami came racing out of the kitchen   
with flour on her face. Tenchi thought it made her look cuter than   
usual. She ran up to him, hugged him, and ran back yelling. "Dinner   
will be ready in one minute, Tenchi!"  
"She's been busy in the kitchen all day. She will only let Kryton   
and Ryu-Ohki in there with her." Aeka said.  
They were gathered with the visitors in the living room when Ryu-  
Ohki emerged from the kitchen carrying a pot to the dinning room table.   
She had assumed her rarely seen adult cabbit-girl form that she assumed   
after assimilating the Masses that one day. Any other time she assumed   
a smaller Toddler cabbit-girl form. She was wearing a pretty blue dress   
with a carrot on the front.  
"Who is that girl?" the other Tenchi asked in surprise.  
"That's Ryu-Ohki." Ryoko said.  
"I didn't know she looked like that?" he said.  
"She's is a bit modest about that specific form. So you don't see   
it too often." the original Tenchi said.  
"She should stay in that form. I think she's very beautiful."   
Sakuya said.  
Ryu-Ohki turned around, her mane of light brown and white hair   
swaying, and blushed quite furiously.  
"Th-ank Y-ou." she said slowly;.  
"She can talk?" asked Sakuya, a bit surprised.  
"She's learning." Ryoko said.  
Sasami came out of the kitchen next with a bunch of plates with   
Kryton following close behind with a large platter in his hands. The   
platter was covered.  
"Something sure smells good." Tenchi said.  
Sasami stopped and waved a finger at him. "No peeking, or its   
broth soup for a week." she warned.  
"I won't, I won't!" he said putting up his hands.  
"Good boy. That goes for the rest of you, too." she said.  
The trio went back into the kitchen, the sound of clatering pans   
could be heard inside.  
"She gets that way when she's working on a special dinner." Aeka   
said.  
"Our Sasami was the same way. She left for Jurai after   
Tenchi...changed." the other Aeka said.  
"Why?" Tenchi asked.  
"He was really really drunk one night. She tried to stop him from   
hitting Aeka, and he hit her, hard." the other Ryoko said.  
"Oh, my!" Aeka said in shock.  
"I still can't imagine myself doing that." Tenchi said.  
"We know you'd never do that." Aeka said before kissing him.  
  
Sasami called everyone to the dinner table a few minute later and   
they all gathered around. The dinner she prepared was a feast of dishes   
inspired by Juraian recipes and Earth recipes. They all sat down, Yosho   
said a short Shinto prayer, and they began to eat.  
Tenchi tried one of the Juraian recipes and his eyes brightened.   
It was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. The spices were   
recently recovered from the wreckage of Ryouhl in the lake by  
Sasami and Ryu-Ohki that summer. She had been saving them for a special   
occasion just like this one.  
"Sasami, this is simply incredible." he said.  
Sasami blushed. "I knew you'd like it!" she cheered.  
"Many of these special recipes from Jurai have special   
significance. The chicken recipe that Tenchi just tried, which is   
originally made with a bird local to Jurai, is a meal servered at  
weddings." Yosho said.  
"That's right, and that cheese dish with the green vegetables is   
served at a Birth Party." Sasami said.  
"A Birth Party?" Tenchi inquired.  
"A party held to celebrate a new birth. It is usually held three   
days after the child is born, and its on that night that the child is   
given a name." Aeka said.  
"The salad with the fish is a traditional dish served at ngagement   
parties, and the roast in the pot is very special." Sasami said.  
"Is that Yoshiwara?" Aeka asked with a strange smile.  
"Yes it is." Sasami smiled, and blushed.  
"I'm missing something here." Tenchi said with a worried   
expression.  
"Yoshiwara is a dish that young wives make for their husbands   
before they tell him they are expecting." Yosho said.  
Tenchi suddenly blushed and looked at Aeka and Ryoko. Ryoko was   
the one who suddenly blushed and averted her eyes from his.  
"Ryoko?" he said.  
"Washu, I mean, mom, gave me one of her examinations today." she   
said.  
"Does this mean?" he asked and she nodded.  
He hugged her and tears fell down Ryoko's eyes.  
Aeka tapped Tenchi on the shoulder. He turned around to her and   
she smiled at him in a very strange way, a light blush on her face also.  
"Aeka?" he said.  
"Not yet, but its only a matter of time." she said beaming with a   
huge smile.  
After a long exchange of embraces and kisses between the three   
Tenchi could think of only one thing to ask. "I know humans are born in   
nine months. But, how long for Ryoko?" he asked.  
"Washu told me I'd probably carry for seven months or so." Ryoko   
said.  
"Juraian have a similar gestation period to humans." Aeka said.  
"Now my son is a real man. Oh, Achika, if you could just see your   
little boy now." Noboyuki said with tears in his eyes.  
"Your not upset that Ryoko was first, are you?" Tenchi asked Aeka.  
"No, Lord Tenchi, in a way I think she deserves it. If you   
noticed I have been a bit nicer to her these past few days." she said.  
"You two haven't been fighting like cats and dogs if that is what   
you mean." Tenchi observed.  
"After reliving some of Ryoko's memories, her life under Kagato,   
her imprisonment, watching you grow up, and being freed by you made me   
realize that she really does love you. Maybe more deeply than I ever   
thought." she explained looking away.  
Tenchi turned her face around and saw she was crying. He could   
feel something through their bond, love, sadness, but most of all love.  
"Aeka, you know that I will always love you no matter what." he   
said.  
"What if I can't give you a child?" she cried.  
"I'll still have you, and that is good enough for me. You don't   
have to have my baby to show me you love me, I already know you love me   
when you chose to bond with me." he said.  
"Oh, Tenchi." she cried and embraced him.  
Mihoshi was crying and whiping her eyes. "Oh, that's so   
beautiful."  
"Shut up, or you'll start to make me cry." the other Mihoshi said   
to her.  
Ryoko came around to Aeka's side and looked her in the eyes. She   
had tears streaming down them. The two women who had been rivals for   
Tenchi's love so long looked at each other. A new relationship  
betsween the two was formed when they bonded with Tenchi and became his   
wives, but there were still many issues that had never been resolved.  
"Aeka, I'm sorry for all the bad things I said to you, for   
fighting with you, and for making your life miserable." she said with   
tears streaming down her face.  
"And, I am sorry for calling you a monster, for butting in between   
you and Tenchi, and for causing you so much grief." Aeka replied with   
tears running down her face.  
"I love you!" they cried and embraced each other. The feeling of   
mutual respect that Tenchi felt between them was replaced by a powerful   
love...a sisterly love. Things have finally come full circle.  
"They've needed this for a long time." Yosho said whiping a single   
tear from his face.  
"Its great. This day has been so great!" Sasami cheered.  
"Its going to be an even better night." Tenchi commented.  
"Yes, the festival and the dance." Aeka said when she cna Ryoko   
parted.  
Ryoko handed Aeka a napkin for her eyes. "We need some time out   
of the house, after all we've been through."  
"Thank you, dear. Yes, I agree." Aeka said when she accepted the   
napkin.  
Tenchi looked at his watch and saw it was 5 pm. "Its five o'clock   
now, and the festival starts at 9 o'clock. So, lets eat and get ready."  
"Agreed." everyone else said in unison. Even the Nagiesque   
Mihoshi who looked at her finger after whiping a single tear from her   
eyes. She felt emotion only rarely in her life, but this place and   
these people were having an effect on her. It was an effect that she   
was starting to like.  
  
Tenchi had his driver's license for some time now but there wasn't   
enough room in Noboyuki's car to take everybody to the festival in town.   
So they all teleported onto Ryu-Ohki in her ship form and traveled the   
short distance into town. The cabbit-ship stayed above the cover of the   
clouds so as not to be seen and teleported everyone down into a secluded   
backstreet. She transformed back into her cabbit-girl form and landed   
next to them. Ken-Ohki assumed a cabbit-boy form and was dressed in  
some of Tenchi's old cloths. He and Ryu-Ohki walked arm in arm down the   
street with the rest of the family.  
The scene on the street before them gave Tenchi flashbacks of the   
first festival they went to. The girls had put together their own   
booths, Kyone and Mihoshi made noodle dishes until Ryu-Ohki ate all   
their carrots, Aeka had a shooting gallery with tiny Ryoko dolls as the   
targets, and Ryoko tried to sell a potion made from an alien frog. Of   
course, there was also Washu's unforgettable haunted house. The memory   
of it still gave Tenchi goosebumps, and a vision of that memory touched   
Aeka and Ryoko's minds. The two shuttered also after seeing the vision.   
There had also been the incident with Washu's cotton candy machine. It   
had been a harmless invention until Mihoshi got her hands on it. Tenchi   
remembered it took weeks for the town to clean up all the cotton candy   
off the fair grounds. Of course, the town did make a lot of money   
selling it off later at streetside booths for nearly a month afterward.   
It was for this reason nobody tried to inquire as to whose fault it  
all was, to his relief.  
Tenchi checked his watch to make sure it was still working right.   
The digital timepiece said Sony on it, but it was a fake made my Washu   
some time ago. When he tapped the watch a certain way it would open a   
small portal next to him that contained the Tenchi-Ken, and another   
sequence would open a large portal that was large enough for people to   
enter. This portal would spill out into the living room back at the   
house. It was a handy thing to have since at any minute a horde of  
hideous monsters could suddenly dropped down on their heads.  
Ryoko was looking at the different booths on the street. There   
were not nearly as many at the summer festival from two year ago, but   
that was due to the cold night air. The rest of the festival  
was held indoors throughout several building in the middle of town. One   
small building had a large sign out front and was decorated with   
hundreds of inflatable hearts and stars. The sign read "The House of   
True Love".  
"Hey, Tenchi. Lets check that place out." Ryoko said pointing.  
"House of True Love. Interesting." Aeka said.  
"Don't you want to go straight to the dance." Tenchi asked.  
However, the two women grabbed Tenchi by both arms and started   
dragging him towards the building. Everyone else suddenly face   
faultered, recovered, and went their way to the rest of the festival.  
Sasami walked up to the other Tenchi and took his arm. He blushed for a   
moment, but decided it wouldn't hurt to go with the little girl for a   
while. The rest of the group with Noboyuki, Kyone, Mihoshi, the other   
Mihoshi, and the other Aeka and Ryoko went on to the dance hall. Ryu-  
Ohki and Ken-Ohki went straight to the dance hall to enjoy each other's   
company. Yosho walked with Sakuya on his arm since she was not in any   
condition to walk very fast and was happy to have his company around.   
In her universe she and Tenchi's grandfather had become very close   
friends.  
  
The House of True Love turned out to be a very pleasent experience   
for the trio. The man at the door was surprised to see a young man and   
two ladies on each arm walked up to the house. He smiled at them.  
"He must be some guy to get two girls at once." he said.  
"You have no idea." Ryoko smiled.  
"He certainly is very special." Aeka said.  
The man opened the door for them. "Well, enjoy yourselves. And,   
no hanky panky, if you three know what I mean."  
  
Inside they were met by several different couples enjoying a   
party. The House of True Love was a place for young couples to meet,   
talk, and socialize. There were rooms set aside for the couples to  
be alone during those times they wanted to just enjoy each other's   
company. Tenchi saw Makoto and Aeiko in one part of the room. He saw   
Tenchi and Ryoko and gave him a thumbs up sign which Tenchi  
returned. Then, the young man saw Aeka on Tenchi's other arm. Tenchi   
started feeling very hot under the collar.  
Ryoko and Aeka looked at each other and then at Makoto and Aeiko.   
They suddenly got this strange feeling form them.  
-- Tenchi, dear. Lets tell him. I sense he can be trusted. --   
Ryoko thought.  
-- I think so too. -- Aeka thought.  
-- Tell him what? -- Tenchi thought the question.  
-- Everything, us, Jurai...I get this feeling from him he might be   
of help to us someday. -- Ryoko thought.  
-- Ok, but I don't know how he's going to take this. -- Tenchi   
thought back.  
  
They all sat in one of those private rooms away from the rest of   
the partiers and talked. The young man from Tenchi's school just looked   
at Tenchi in bewilderment when he told him he was already married, and   
it was to two women instead of just one. He didn't get to the rest of   
the story, that part about them being aliens.  
"Why marry two girls?" Makoto asked.  
"I loved them both, and I just couldn't bring myself to choose."   
Tenchi said.  
"I for one think its romantic and very sweet of you not to hurt   
the other's feelings." Aeiko said.  
"Lord Tenchi was always a very nice person." Aeka said.  
"I notice you call him...Lord Tenchi. Why is that?" Makoto asked.  
Tenchi braced himself and choose his words carefully. "Have you   
ever seen that movie import from America called E.T.?" he asked.  
"Sure. Its a real classic." Makoto said.  
Makoto looked at him for a minute, then looked at Aeka and then   
Ryoko. He noticed for first time that Aeka's hair was a rk shade of   
purple and that her eyes were lavender. That was a very strange  
hair color and eye color for an ordinary person. Ryoko, he noticed had   
yellow eyes and they were catlike. He had been too busy lost in Aeiko's   
eyes to have noticed it before.  
"You don't mean?" Aeiko asked in surprise.  
"How? Where did you meet? Why did you come here?" Makoto started   
asking excitedly.  
Tenchi went through the whole story of how he freed Ryoko from the   
cave, the fight at the school, and Aeka's arrival on Earth in search of   
her long lost half-brother who happened to be his grandfather. Makoto   
was surprised to learn that the destruction of the school three years   
ago had been because of Tenchi, and was even more surprised to learn   
that his respected Shinto priest grandfather was an alien. Aeiko didn't   
seem to surprised by all of this. She looked very hard at Ryoko for a  
minute or two.  
"I thought you looked familar." she said.  
"Do we know each other?" Ryoko asked.  
"No. You see, I am an alien too." she said.  
"What?" exclaimed Aeka, Ryoko, and Tenchi.  
"She crashed on Earth five years ago." Makoto admitted.  
"Makoto was the first human I met on Earth, and he took me in."   
Aeiko said.  
"Where are you from originally?" Aeka asked.  
"A planet called Toradon." she said.  
"I remember Toradon. Kagato used to hide out there from time to   
time." Ryoko said flatly.  
"That's where I saw you. You were with that guy all the time."   
Aeiko said.  
"I didn't have much of a choice, he had me under mind control."   
Ryoko said.  
"I take it this Kagato wasn't a very nice guy." Makoto said.  
"He forced Ryoko to attack my homeworld, which resulted in Prince   
Yosho chasing her across the galaxy here to Earth 700 years ago." Aeka   
said.  
"Kagato came here about two years ago, and I killed him on his   
ship using my grandfather's swrod." Tenchi said.  
Makoto shook his head. "And I thought I had a really strange   
life. Since Aeiko showed up I've had run-ins with all sorts of strange   
alien monsters."  
"When did you realize you loved her?" Tenchi asked.  
"About three years ago. We lived together at my grandparent's   
house for two years and one day we were attacked. I freaked out when I   
thought she was dead, and I told her I loved her. Its been romance ever   
since." he said hugging Aeiko.  
"We always though we were the only aliens on Earth, besides my   
half-brother." Aeka said.  
"Your with the Jurai royal family, right?" Aeiko asked.  
"Yes. Prince Yosho is my half-brother, and Tenchi's grandfather.   
This means that Tenchi is the first prince of Jurai, and I am the first   
princess of Jurai." Aeka said.  
"That would mean that Ryoko is the second princess of Jurai." Aeiko said.  
"No, that would be my sister Sasami. But, you are right. Ryoko   
is now a member of the royal family by way of marriage to Lord Tenchi."   
Aeka commented.  
"I am?" Ryoko asked surprised.  
"You are the third princess of Jurai now." Aeka said.  
"I never gave it any thought." Ryoko said.  
"You never asked." Aeka replied.  
"Those girls at your house. Who are they really?" Makoto asked   
Tenchi with a wide grin.  
"They aren't my cousins. They are Detectives Mihoshi and Khyone   
of the Galaxy Police, and of course Princess Sasami of Jurai. Oh, and   
there is Little Washu." Tenchi said.  
"Do you mean Washu the famous mad scientist?" Aeiko asked   
surprised.  
"The one and only. She is also my mother." Ryoko said.  
"Gee, small universe." Aeiko said.  
"Compared to yours, good buddy, my life doesn't seem all that   
messed up after all." Makoto laughed.  
"Thank a lot." Tenchi said in a mock sarcastic tone.  
They all laughed together and continued their conversation.  
  
The five of them later left the House of True Love and sent to the   
dance hall. They arrive to see Mihoshi dancing, or trying to, with a   
man in an American Navy outfit. Khyone was sitting and chatting  
with Noboyuki. Yosho was dancing with Sakuya very slowly. The song   
being played was a slow one from an American singer named Whitney   
Houston. The two cabbits were over by the snack table getting some   
carrot sticks, of course. The Navy man and Mihoshi can over to the   
table were they all met and they laughed.  
"Finally, somebody who dances just a bad as I do." the man said.  
Mihoshi blushed furiously and smiled.  
"Your not too bad." she said.  
"Who's your friend?" Tenchi asked.  
"Oh, hi Tenchi, guys. This is Marc. We actually met a few days   
ago." she said.  
"Hi, so your Tenchi." the man said.  
"Met is not the word for it. She spilled hot coffee down his   
shirt at the Mos Burger." Khyone said.  
"I was born with two left feet. That incident was as much my   
fault too." Marc said. He seemed to have a western America draw to this   
voice, sort of like a Texan, Tenchi thought. His Japanese was also  
quite fluent.  
"Well, after she helps him up he asked her for a date, a date of   
all things." Khyone said exasperated.  
"Interesting way to pick up women, getting fried by hot coffee." Tenchi laughed.  
"I think it was worth it." Marc said smiling at Mihoshi who turned   
blood red again.  
"If you keep making her blush she's going to explode." Sasami said   
with a laugh.  
To everyone's surprise Yosho started to chuckled slightly.  
  
A fast song from Tokyo Pop roared through the dance hall and the   
dance floor started to fill with young teens. Marc took Mihoshi's hand   
and they raced to the dance floor, but along the way she triped and   
pulled him down with her. They fell on top of each other in a rather   
compromising position, and after looking at each other for a few minutes   
they both picked each other up with red glowing furiously on both their   
faces. Soon, they disappeared to the throng of dancers.  
"They look good together." Tenchi said.  
"I like him, he said I was cute." Sasami said.  
"That's because you are." Tenchi said and this made the little   
girl blush.  
-- Tenchi, you do that on purpose. -- Aeka thought to him.  
-- Well, it makes her look so cute when she does that. -- he   
thought back.  
-- Shame on you, Tenchi. Heartbreaker. -- Ryoko thought with a   
laugh.  
-- What? Ok, maybe I do that a little too much. I can't help   
it. -- he thought back.  
  
The lioghts in the dance hall started to go down low. A song   
began to fill the hall that Tenchi knew all too well. It was from a   
movie that he and Ryoko had seen on one of their dates. The song was  
slow, sad, and romantic all at the same time. They lyrics were in   
English, but Tenchi understood every word since English was his second   
language. Few songs moved him emotionally as this one, and sometimes  
one of the Juraian love ballads that Aeka would sing from time to time   
in her rose garden. He felt the tears trying to boil to the surface as   
the song told a story of love lost but remembered always.  
"My hear will go on! Oh, I love this song." Ryoko said. "Let   
dance, Tenchi."  
"Alright." he said smiling to her.  
Aeka stayed behind to let the two goto the dance floor. She   
watched them and could not help but thing that she just could not   
measure up to Ryoko in their relationship. She had seen first hand now  
deeply Ryoko loved Tenchi. I had been bothering her, but a soft   
caressing thought from Tenchi's mind throught their bond put all of   
those feelings aside.  
Tenchi looked at his wife and felt so lucky to have her. She was   
wearing the red dress that she intended to wear to their date. She   
looked fabulous in it, but then again he thought she looked great  
in whatever she wore. Tenchi and Ryoko danced slowly to the song with   
their arms around each other. Different couples looked at them as they   
danced by. The soaring words of the song rang loud in their hearts as   
they danced with each other. When the song reached it highest peak they   
embraced while they danced and their lips met in an emotional kiss.   
All of the pain, sadness, regret, and haunted memories of Ryoko's  
past were shattered by that one kiss. It was as if she were reborn.   
She was in a new life as Tenchi's wife, she was pregnant with his child,   
and nothing was going to every change that. Kagato was dead so the   
would never come back to hurt her or the ones she loves ever again.   
Aeka could feel the emotions coming from Ryoko and she could not help it   
but cry herself. Ryoko was finally free of the demons that plaqued her   
life for so long.  
  
...your're here there's nothing to fear...  
  
...and I feel that my heart will go on....  
  
...we'll stay forever this way...  
  
...and I feel that my heart will go on and on....  
  
When the song ended they opened their eyes and found they were   
standing in the center of the dancebfloor surrounded by a throng of   
couples that just watched them. Feelig a little embarassed at that  
moment the two bowed and received a roarig applause from their audience.   
They soon ran back to their table hand in hand. Aeka was waiting for   
them with tears in her eyes. Not from the emotional words in the song,   
but from the feeling she was getting from Ryoko and Tenchi.  
"Wow! You two were incredible up there!" Sasami cheered.  
"Ya. I never knew you could dance like that, Ryoko." Khyone   
commented.  
The normally unmodest space pirate suddenly blushed.  
The lights on the dance floor flared bright, laser beanms started   
cutting streaks along the ceiling, and color lights started whirling   
around the dance hall. The deep bass sounds of "You Dropped the Bomb on   
Me" started pounding out on the speakers. A throng of dancers ran up to   
dance floor, lined up, and started doing the Hustle.  
"I love the Hustle, come on!" Sasami said and she grabbed the   
other Tenchi's hand. The alternate reality version of Tenchi Masaki   
could not resist the little girl and decided to go and join her. They  
did not notice the venmous glances from the alternate reality versions   
of Aeka and Ryoko they left behind.  
"I see few things change, even in an alternate universe." the real   
Tenchi chuckled.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" both girls asked from across the   
table.  
"Well, my girls here alwasy got upset with Sasami when ever she   
was around me too." he said.  
"Yes, it was a time when we both saw any girl around Tenchi as   
possible competition. Even poor little Sasami." Ryoko said.  
"Being jealous of a little girl was very petty of us." Aeka   
commented.  
"It got worse after we found out she and Tsunami were the same   
person." Tenchi said.  
  
The lights on the dance hall went down low again and Tenchi lead   
Aeka out onto the dance floor with her on his arm. She had discarded   
her usual kimono for a beautiful blue and white evening gown. She  
look so wonderful in it, Tenchi thought. Aeka winked at him since   
through their bond she could tell he like the way she looked. The music   
was silent for a few minutes, then the soft lights of the disco ball  
overhead filled the hall. The music rose up and Tenchi too his second   
wife in his arms. This song was not as heavily emotional as the Saline   
Dion number had been, but its meaning was just the same for the two of   
them. Aeka lay her head on his shoulder as they danced their way   
through the throng of couples. This was a new song she had not heard   
before, it too was in English, but she understood it via her bond   
with Tenchi. The words rang true to the feelings in her heart.  
  
...don't want to close my eyes...  
  
...dont' want to fall asleep...  
  
....because I miss you, babby...  
  
...and I don't want to miss a thing...  
  
They held each other close as they danced to the rousing beat of   
he slow song. Aeka looked up into Tenchi's eyes and saw only love   
there, and through her bond she felt his love wash over her like   
protective blanket. It was then that something suddenly snapped inside   
her, her fear, apprehension, and sad feelings were washed away in a wave   
of pure joy. Ryoko loved Tenchi deeply, but that did not mean that she   
could not have the same feeliings. She no longer felt inadaquete for   
him, and knew that her position in his heart was as secure as it had   
ever been. There was room enough for both of them in his heart. Tenchi   
could feel this solution spring up in her.  
-- How could you have doubted us? -- he thought the question.  
-- I'm so sorry. -- she thoght back.  
-- Don't be. We are together forever. Nothing will ever change   
that. -- he said.  
Aeka chocked back a sob and kissed him just as the music raised to   
its highest peak. Soon the song was slowly fading and they returned to   
the table. Ryoko was looking at her with an expression that was very   
strange. It was not jealousy, envy, or anger. It was affection,   
geniune affection. All strife was gone in the bond, the darkness that   
loomed in both their minds were gone. Tenchi felt thiis and was very  
happy that the two would now fianlly be friends and would not just be   
tolerating each other for his sake.  
  
Later that night they all returned to the Masaki house. Ryu-Ohki   
teleported them all into the living room and they were all talking.   
Even the bounty hunter Mihoshi was smiling. The real Mihoshi  
was talking about how nice Marc had been at the dance, Khyone talked   
about how nice Noboyuki really was when he wasn't acting like a pervert,   
and the other Tenchi was talking to the other Ryoko and Aeka. Sakuya as   
very tired so Yosho took her to a room where she could sleep, and Nagi   
decided to go and have a dreamy bath in the onsen.  
Tenchi and his two brides becided to go an have a dip in the warm   
waters of the onsen too. They met, undressed, and climbed into the warm   
waters.  
"I think its so special that three people can be so much in love   
with each other." Nagi commented.  
"I think this whole Great Bond thing is going to work out just   
fine." Ryoko replied. She was lounging back in the warm water.  
"I agree. There is one thing that ties Ryoko and myself together   
and that our love for Tenchi." Aeka said.  
"All we have left to do now is tell your parents, Aeka." Tenchi   
said.  
Aeka sat up in the water and a wave of dread came over her. "That   
in itself will be a great challenge. My father is not very fond of you,   
Lord Tenchi."  
"After my finals this spring, lets all goto Jurai." Tenchi said   
with a smile.  
Aeka almost jumped out of the water at him. "Tenchi, there is a   
fine line between bravery and suicide!"  
"Asuza isn't too fond of me either. He's still sore about that   
incident 700 years ago." Ryoko commented.  
"Still, we do have to tell father what we did or he will   
eventually learn on his own." Aeka said finally after calming down.  
"Then its decided then. This spring after I graduate from high   
school we'll all goto Jurai and break the news to the royal family."   
Tenchi said.  
"The Great Bond is sacred to the people of Jurai. My father would   
never dare try to force us to part." Aeka observed.  
Ryoko suddenly laughed. "Poor Sasami will be the one getting hit   
will all the lame suitors your father digs up."  
"When I refused to come home with father that day, it was the   
first time I ever defied him." Aeka confessed. "Sasami was always able   
to get her way because she just has this way of making his defenses  
wither and fall."  
"She gets away with murder around here, I noticed." Nagi said.  
"Its because she's so darn cute and we fall for it every time."   
Ryoko said.  
"I don't think we'd want her any other way." Tenchi said.  
All of them nodded in agreement.  
  
The next day Tenchi woke up to his two brides sleeping on either   
side of him in the bed. It was the second time they did this, and it   
had been totally innocent. They agreed back when they first bonded two   
days ago they would not be intimate together all at once, but   
individually. He could not help what it would be like to have both at   
the same time, but he realized just as they did that the experience   
would cheapen the love they have for each other. He sat up in bed   
slowly so as not to wake them and made his way downstairs. Sasami was   
cooking breakfast in the kitchen with Ryu-Ohki and Ken-Ohki, Kryton was   
looking out the window watching for anything that could possibly be of   
Darkling origin, and the others were still sleeping in their sleeping   
bags on the floor. Both cabbits were still in their adult humanoid   
forms.  
"Sasami, where is Mihoshi and Khyone?" he asked when he noticed   
they were gone.  
"Oh, they got a call last night. They're up in the Yugami." she   
said.  
"They'd better stay clear of that rift." he said.  
"Oh, I think they will." she said.  
"Kh-yone sm-art." Ryu-Ohki said.  
"Yes she is." Tenchi commented.  
Everyone else was starting to wake up to the smell of frying bacon   
and eggs. Nagi stretched out yawned very loud. She put her hand over   
her mouth and blushed. "Opps, I sound like Mihoshi." she said.  
The other just laughed at her, even the bounty hunter version of   
Mihoshi.  
The bounty hunter came up to Tenchi and smiled at him. It was the   
first time he saw the woman smile since the party last night. "Tenchi,   
since I came her I have felt free. I experienced a great deal of pain   
in my life and you have shown me great kindness." she said.  
"Its the least I could do, Mihoshi." he said.  
"I want to appologize for attacking your house when Z first came   
here." she said.  
"Already forgotten." he said.  
"Thank you, Tenchi." she smiled.  
Tenchi was aleted to the sound of someone on the steps and he saw   
a drowsy Ryoko looking at him.  
-- I only wish the real Nagi would be like that. -- she thought to   
him.  
-- Who knows, maybe one day we will get the chance. -- he thought   
in reply.  
-- Anyway, I think I'm getting that morning sickness thing. -- she   
thought.  
-- Its all a part of being pregnant, I guess? -- Tenchi thought   
back.  
Ryoko's face suddenly turned green and she clamped a hand over her   
mouth. She turned and ran for the bathroom upstairs. -- Excuse me! --   
she thought to him. From somewhere upstairs he could hear loud wreching   
sounds. Tenchi went upstairs and found her kneeling in front of the   
toilet. She was breathing hard and held her long hair back with one   
hand. He kneeled down next to her and rubbed her back.  
-- Thanks. That feels good. -- she thought to him.  
"Morning sickness?" Aeka asked as she came to the door. She was   
still wearing her night gown and hadn't changed into her usual Juraian   
kimono yet.  
"Very much so." Tenchi said.  
"I remember mother going through it when she was pregnant with   
Sasami. I fear I will be the one to experience it next." she said.  
Ryoko stood up, washed her face, and gargled with some of Tenchi's   
mouth wash which he offered her. "Seven months of this. How do human   
women handle it?" she asked him.  
"Ask Sakuya, she could explain it to you." Tenchi offered.  
They all heard Sasami announce that breakfast was ready   
downstairs.  
"Oh good. I'm starved!" Ryoko said. She grabbed Tenchi and   
Aeka's hands and teleported them instantly to the dinning room.  
  
Breakfast was very good as usual since Sasami was the cook, and   
Ryoko had double helpings of everthing. They immediately assumed it was   
due to the fact that she was with child and that her genstation period   
was much shorter than a huamn's. Only Washu and Orrin were missing from   
the table that morning. Temchi asked Sasami if she had seen them at all   
this morning.  
"She popped out of a portal just before I called everybody to   
breakfast and took their plates. I haven't seen them since." she said.  
"They are both very hard at work." Aeka said.  
"Either that or they are having some fun." Ryoko said.  
"What do you mean?" Aeka asked her.  
"You didn't notice. Mother and that alien prince were making eyes   
at each other all morning yesterday." Ryoko said.  
"You don't think? Well? That would explain why she was acting so   
strange." Aeka said.  
"Orrin and Washu are lovers?" Sasami asked in surprise.  
Kryton stepped up and sighed. "I am not surprised. Little Washu   
is very attractive for a humanoid female, and his highness is....how   
shall I say this....an incouragable romantic."  
"One of those types, huh?" Khyone said with a sly smile.  
"Oh, no. He truely cares for the women he has, been with. Its   
just he seems to attract them to him. He is not a playboy." Kryton   
said.  
"Reminds me of someone we know." Ryoko said patting Tenchi's   
shoulder.  
"What?!" he said and they all just smiled sheepishly at him.  
  
For the rest of the day, after Tenchi climbed into the attic and   
pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations, they all decorated the   
house for the holidays coming up in the next month. It was all a nice   
distraction from the threat that looming above them. Kryton kept his   
watch for anything unexpected while they hung Christmas lights around   
the house. Sasami, Ryu-Ohki, and Ken-Ohki strung popcorn onto thread   
for garland, Ryoko kept eating the popcorn, Aeka tested the lights, and   
Noboyuki and Yosho went out to get the tree. Later, the he rest of them   
helped put up lights around the house. The bouty hunter Mihoshi had   
gotten rid of her dark cloak and bodysuit and now wore on of Aeka's   
dresses. The other Tenchi told her she looked beautiful, and she   
blushed furiously. The other Aeka and Ryoko sorted out the ornaments   
and almost got into a fight over who was going to stand under the   
miseltoe with the Tenchi from the alternate universe. Tenchi pulled   
Ryoko away from Sasami's popcorn, and they phased up through the roof to   
setup the light fixtures of Santa and his reindeer on the roof.  
"I always get teary eyed during Startica." Ryoko said.  
"We call it Christmas, here." Tenchi told her.  
"The first of many, together." she said as she put her head on his   
shoulder.  
"I pray for a long, long time." Tenchi said and kissed her.  
  
The next day they spent playing in the newly fallen blanket of   
snow that fell at the Masaki home. Aeka and Ryoko had a snow ball fight,   
Ryu-Ohki and Ken-Ohki wandered through the forest together, and  
Sasami and the alternate reality Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko built a   
snowman. The two Mihoshi's went sleding later with Sasami and the   
cabbits. Nagi backed some Startica cookies in the kitchen, and every-  
one discovered she was a very good cook. Tenchi shoveled the snow, but   
soon found himself the target in a friendly snowball fight between Aeka,   
Ryoko, and Noboyuki. Sakuya just watched it all from the porch and   
laughed with Khyone at her side. Day three ended with a great dinner   
that Nagi prepared herself and Sasami was very impressed. They were   
enjoying dinner and each other's company when Kryton marched through the   
room with a worried expression on his metallic face.  
"This is not good. I am detecting a change in the rift." he said   
out loud.  
"What sort of change?" Tenchi asked.  
"I is getting bigger." the avitar replied.  
  
Washu keyed in a sequence on her holocomputer and swore under her   
breath. Orrin was next to her at a similar console going over the   
computations for the dark matter they needed. The image of the rift  
showed it was getting larger, data streaming in shows the quantum forces   
in the rift were growing, and its graviational effects were getting   
stronger. She still could not tell how the Darklings were doing it   
since her instruments were being jammed beyond lunar orbit.  
"These computations are useless now. They are based on the rift's   
original size." Orrin spat.  
"The timetable for the moon has changed too." Washu said darkly.  
"How long?" he asked.  
"72 hours before its orbit is effected enough to send it flying   
into the Earth." she replied.  
Orrin stood up and took her hand. "We can't use these omputations   
anymore, we need to go collect dark matter right now and just make our   
best guess."  
"We'd better tell the others. The changing positon of the moon   
will start causing strange weather and earthquakes." Washu said.  
They both emerged from the lab to find everyone in the dining room   
with Kryton. The avitar rushed over to them and explained his readings,   
but Washu interrupted him by telling them that she waw aware of what was   
happening.  
"We have 72 hours to seal the rift or we can kiss this planet   
goodbye." she said.  
"That was quick and too the point." the other Mihoshi commented.  
"So much for our holiday." Aeka said.  
"I am prepareing for launch now, sire. I expect you and Little   
Washu will be leaving for your dark matter collection?" Kryton asked.  
"Yes, and as soon as possible." Orrin said.  
Outside they could hear the sound of rushing wind and a low   
humming noise. They looked out of the windows and saw the ship that was   
Kryton hovering above the house. Instant Orrin and Washu vanished from   
the room without any light or sound heralding their departure, and then   
the ship streaked off into the sky making a sonic boom over the lake   
that shook the house.  
Kryton's avitar remained on Earth to everyone's surprise. He   
looked at them questioningly.  
"I have sensors in this avitar which will help in detecting   
Darklings if they decide to approach us again." he said.  
"That is good to hear." Tenchi said.  
  
Somewhere off in deep space a dark cloaked figure stands on the   
bridge of a massive starship and watches the display of the rift in   
Earth's lunar orbit. In his midst stand dozens of the creatures, some   
were like the Darklings that attacked Washu's lab, and other were too   
horrible to describe. A small child walked up to the cloaked figure,   
she stood no taller than Sasami, had white hear, and wore only a simple   
white dress. She was also barefoot, and she had eyes that were bright   
blue. Her manner was not of a child and the cloaked figure could feel a   
powerful presence of evil when she was near.  
"Why did you send such weak soldiers to attack them?" the figure   
asked the child. "I told you they were powerful."  
"We had to test them, and I needed to confirm the presence of the   
Star Gem Sword." the child said.  
"Does that mean you have finally found your Elo'Quin?" the figure   
asked.  
"No, but I suspect that they left their legacy behind here. All   
evidence of their presence points to this planet." she said and an image   
of an Earth-like world appeared on a holodisplay.  
The cloaked figure recognized the planet immediately. "Planet   
Jurai."  
"Why then attack such a worthless world as Earth?" he then asked.  
"It is not the planet, but the life force that will be released   
when its destroyed. When our forces arrive they will need energy." the   
child said.  
"So, the rift serves to send the moon into the planet and as a way   
to get your forces here." the dark figure said.  
"Yes, and our forces are almost ready to come through." the child   
said.  
A alarm signal sounds from one of the consoles of the bridge and a   
Darkling officer responds to it. The creature looks at the data on its   
screen and then looks to the child in urgency.  
"Mistress, the Setari ship is leaving the planet." it said.  
"On screen." she ordered.  
The image of the Kryton flying away from the planet appeared in a   
holoscreen. The dark figure put a hand to his face. "What does this   
mean?" he asked.  
"The champion of the Elo'Quin is planning something." she said.   
She turned towards the Darkling officer that alerted her to the ship.   
"Monitor them and keep me informed off all he does."  
"Yes Mistress. The one known as Washu is with the Setari." the   
Darkling replied.  
"Washu, this is not a good sign. She may have found a way to   
close the rift." the dark figure said.  
"Is this Washu capable of such a thing?" she asked.  
"Yes, I can tell you from first hand experience that she can. In   
fact, the attempts to close the rift before were her's." the dark figure   
said.  
"What of this Tenchi Masaki, Aeka, and Ryoko you mentioned. Are   
they as great a threat as you claim? They did defeat my soldiers." the   
child said.  
"They are, but you remember our aggreement that I want Aeka,   
Ryoko, and Washu alive. When we advance on Jurai I want the Tsunami   
unit." the dark figure growled.  
"Shall we retrieve those you wish now, or wait until just before   
the planet is destroyed?" asked the child.  
"Get them now. Send your best for them or you will have a replay   
of what happened in Washu's lab." the dark figure said.  
"Very well then. You are much more intellegent that the emperor   
of that Imperium back in our universe." the child said. "What shall we   
do with the one named Tenchi?"  
"Kill him." the dark figure said in an evil tone.  
"It will be done. Remember your side of the bargin when we place   
you on the throne of Jurai." the child said warningly.  
"I pay my debts." the dark figure said suddenly.  
"You'd better hope so, that foolish ruler of the Imperium thought   
he could control us because we needed him. Now he is just our mindless   
slave, and none of his people are aware that he is really just a shell   
of his former self." the child laughed evily.  
With that the child walked away to make all the preparation.  
_______  
Chapter 9 - Dark Matter   
  
Washu admired the view from the bridge of the Kryton and how it   
resembled Ryu-Ohki in almost every detail. Orrin sat on a levatating   
seat and was working the controls. The ground receeded away quickly and   
soon the haze of the atmosphere was gone and replaced by stars. She   
remarked that she felt no motion as the ship moved. She was so busy   
studying the rift that she did not take the time to study Kryton's   
avitar and his ship form.  
"This is impressive. You built this?" she asked Orrin.  
"I designed it, and the Elo'Quin energy-to-matter conversion   
factory on my homeworld did all the work." he said.  
"I existsed sometime before he built this new form for me. I was   
the main computer for his personal shuttle at one time." Kryton said.  
"Once he was placed in his new form he started to develop new   
subroutines to adjust to his new body, and now he is like he is today.   
Also I think the magic in his new form had something to do with him   
developing a personality." Orrin said.  
"Sire, I have pinpointed a strong source of dark matter. I am   
setting course right now." Kryton said.  
"Good. Once the course is set get up clear of the quantum   
distortions of the rift and initialate space fold." Orrin ordered.  
"Of course, sire." Kryton replied.  
  
Kryton raced through space at a great speed leaving the Earth   
behind. Soon the planet was a small speck of light on the backdrop of   
stars. Instruments showed that the quantum distortions of the rift  
did not reach very far from the planet. Kryton initialized the fold   
drive, the ship was encircled in a sphere of energy which pulsed for a   
brief moment and suddenly imploded on itself. Seconds later, many  
many lightyears away from Earth, the Kryton burst into existance with a   
momentary flash of light.  
"That was incredible. Most of the races in the galaxy would kill   
for a technology like this." Washu said.  
"Kryton is the only ship right now with space fold capabilities.   
Most of the rest have sub-space drives." Orrin said.  
"A large pocket of dark matter is just ahead of us. We must be   
careful not to make physical contact with it." Kryton said.  
"Yes, or it will cause damage to the hull." Washu commented.  
"I am adjusting our shields to begin collecting dark matter now.   
For the original size of the rift we calculated at least 50 kilograms,   
but now the rift is twice its original size." Orrin said.  
"We'll have to guess or at least come up with a good quick value."   
Washu said as she summoned her holopad. She keyed in some commands and   
data began streaming across her screen.  
"This is not 100% accurate without factoring in everything about   
the rift, but I'd guess we would need 750 kilograms of dark matter." she   
continued.  
"That is alot of dark matter. Kryton, start making a magnetic   
bottle to contain the dark matter in your replicator." Orrin said.  
"Already working on it. I'll have it done in half an hour." the   
ship replied.  
"That's perfect." Orrin said.  
Alarms suddenly started going off in the bridge and a large   
holodisplay snapped into existance before them on the bridge. The   
display was a three-dimensional sensor view of the area around the  
ship that reached a distance of 1 million kilometers. There was a large   
object in the area and several smaller ones. Each object was labeled   
with red rune like text from Orrin's native language of Setarese.  
"Blast!" Orrin cursed.  
"What is it?" Washu asked but she already figured what it could   
be.  
"Darkling signatures, and they appear to be on a course for Earth,   
and us." Orrin said.  
"Two Darkling ships have broken form the group and are converging   
on us. ETA is estimated at fifteen minutes." Kryton said.  
"That isn't enough time to collect all the dark matter." Washu   
said.  
"Then we'll have to fight them off and continue after we take them   
out." Orrin said.  
"Sire, I am unable to reach my avitar on Earth. The quantum   
distortions from the rift are jamming all subspace frequencies." Kryon   
said with concern in his voice.  
"They are on their own then, your avitar can warn them of any   
approach." Orrin said.  
"I am eccelerating my the manufacture of that containment unit for   
the dark matter." Kryton said.  
"How much dark matter do we have so far?" Washu asked Orrin.  
The prince checked the readings on his holodisplay. "About 100   
kilograms." he said.  
Outside the ship the shield had been adjusted to act as a scoop to   
gather the dark matter. It could not be allowed to touch the hull of   
the ship or it would phase into it and cause the molecules of it to   
distort. The substance was invisible, but its frequency was visible to   
sensors and the pits of matter looked like dark grey cotton balls on the   
display.  
"At this rate we will have 750 kilograms in three hours." Washu   
said.  
"We have to be careful, dark matter is unstable if handled too   
roughly." Orrin said.  
"Can we get a visual of that larger Darkling ship?" Washu asked.  
"Certainly Little Washu." Kryton said and an image of the ship   
appeared on the main holo-display before her.  
Washu studied the design of the ship and then gasped in shock.   
She was familiar with this design. She immediately called up an image   
of a ship just like it with her holopad. The two ships were nearly   
indentical except for the dark organic additions made by the Darklings.   
Essentially the two ship were practically the same.  
"It can't be the same ship." she said.  
"Do you recognize that vessel?" Orrin asked.  
"Yes, I do. Its the Soja, and I designed it." she said.  
"Looks like the Darklings have it now." Orrin said.  
"But that's impossible. The Soja was destroyed." Washu said.  
"When did this happen?" Orrin asked.  
"Tenchi cut it in half with the Light Hawk Sword when he fought   
Kagato in Earthspace." she replied.  
"Kagato, isn't he supposed to be dead?" Orrin asked.  
"I pray he is." Washu said.  
  
Tenchi dove like a quarterback to grab a vase that had been his   
mother's favorite a long time ago. The ground was beginning to shake as   
the gravitational effects of the moon's shifting orbit began to effect   
the Earth. Similar saves of pictures, statuary, and other items were   
being done all around the house by the rest of the family and the   
visitors.  
"I'm scared Tenchi." Sasami cried as she wrapper her arms around   
him.  
"It'll be alright, Sasami, you'll see." he said trying to calm her   
down.  
"If this shaking gets worse we might not have a house soon."   
Noboyuki said as he hold a picture of his wife that almost fell to the   
floor.  
Ryoko phased throught he wall and flew over to them. "All the   
windows in the greenhouse are getting cracks in them." she said.  
"Ok, lets get everything off the shelves and onto the floor.   
Ryoko, there is duct tape in the tool shed outside, go get it and put   
some on the windows in the greenhouse." Tenchi said.  
"You got it, Tenchi dear." she replied and teleported away.  
"Aeka, Sasami, go into the kitchen and gather all the food you   
can, then take it to Washu's lab." he continued.  
"Yes, Lord Tenchi." Aeka said.  
"The rest of you, after we everthing loose on the wall and shelves   
onto the floor, I want you all in Washu's lab." he finished.  
Everybody else nodded and ran off to work. Tenchi went up to his   
bedroom, grabbed the Juraian ring that allowed him to transform into his   
battlegear, and came back downstairs. He put the ring on and headed for   
the green house. Every windows was now covered by a large X made form   
two strips of grey duct tape. This was to prevent the windows from   
severely cracking for breaking all together. The blast of cold would   
kill the flowers and Ryu-Ohki's carrot crop.  
"I'm done here." Ryoko smiled.  
Tenchi kissed her. "Great, now go and tape up all the cabnets in   
the kitchen with that tape also." he said.  
Ryoko kissed him back. "On my way." she said.  
  
Several minutes later they all gathered inside Washu's lab, after   
Mihoshi got them past her electronic locks that is, and they sat in the   
garden she build there. The place made Sakuya uneasy since it was where   
she and the other Tenchi were sitting when the Darklings attacked.  
"Mom installed some new defenses in here in case those Darklings   
decided to try that kind of thing again." Ryoko said to Sakuya to put   
her at ease.  
Just outside the lab entrance they could hear the sound of the   
house shuttering again, but more violently this time.  
"The quakes are getting worse, and I have lost contact with my   
ship body." Kryton said.  
"That could be due to the rift." Tenchi said.  
"Most likely, and this avitar has limited communications range."   
Kryton replied.  
"If your seperated from your main body, how can you function." the   
other Mihoshi asked.  
"I have a complete downloaded copy of my persona stored in this   
avitar for such cases. That way I do not need a contact link with my   
ship body to function." Kryton said.  
"Taking about being in two places at once." Ryoko said to her   
other self.  
  
The cloaked figure on the bridge of the great ship watched as a   
flight of oranic looking ships streaked off into space. The vessels   
looked like large crabs with its legs and pinsors held close to their   
bodies. They disappeared in a flash of light as they went into warp.   
He turned around to look at the innner part of the bridge and watched   
the crew of Darklings, some in their hideous Darkling forms, and others   
in the form of their hosts. The little girl who was the leader of these   
creatures walked up to him again.  
"The Setari ship had detected us." he told her.  
"It is no matter, I have sent two gunships to deal with it." the   
child said.  
"What if this champion defeats them?" the cloaked man asked.  
"You have little confidence in us." the child said curtly.  
"I like to keep all possiblities open." he replied.  
"Good. Are you prepared to fulfill your part of our bargin?" the   
child asked.  
The cloaked man nodded.  
"You will suffer immense pain at first." the child said as she   
advanced on him. "But that pain will turn to ecstacy as you begin to   
change after the simbient has settled."  
"If it will give me the power to take my revenge, I am ready." the   
man said.  
Tbe child smiled at him. It was almost a seductive smile that was   
out of place on the face of a child.  
"I like you. You have such a great darkness in your heart. Its   
not like the envy and greed in the Imperium emperor." she said.  
"When do we begin?" the man asked.  
"Right now. Sit on the floor." she said.  
The man did as she asked and he sat on the floor where he had been   
standing. She walked up to him and pulled back his hood. Only she   
could see his face. The little girl touched his cheeks with her hands   
and started to kiss him on the libs. The man's eyes went wide with   
surprise at this, but he found that he could not move. A powerful force   
held him in place.  
"What are you doing?" he demanded.  
"I decided to have a little fun first." the child said, but as she   
spoke her voice grew deeper and richer into a adult woman's voice.  
Her physical form began to change as well into that of a full   
adult humanoid women, but her dress did not change and it ripped off of   
her now naked body. She began to undress the man.  
"This wasn't a part of the bargin." the man said as she kissed him   
down his neck.  
"I decided to adjust the bargin a bit. Don't worry, when I am   
done you will be a changed man." she said. The creatures and Darklings   
in humanoid form watched the display with gruesome interest as their   
queen mother fulfilled her dark desires of the flesh with the man whom   
they made their bargin with. When she was done she collapsed to the   
floor out of breath and the man was left naked and writhing on he floor   
in immmense agony. During their intercourse she had planted her seed   
within him, and now the tiny Darkling simbient was making its way   
through his body to his brain. The movement of the tiny creature set   
off pain receptors all through his body. The screaming went on for   
several minutes, and then abruptly ended. The man stood up as if   
nothing happened and he looked at himself, and then back up to the   
woman.  
"Now do you understand?" she asked.  
"Yes, I can feel the power." he said.  
"That is a special seed. Its a regent seed. You will not need to   
mature like the others do." the woman said.  
The man walked up to her and put his arms around her. "My turn."   
he said an he lift her up off the floor and carried her away to his   
quarters.  
  
The gem on the Star Gem Sword flared bright for a few seconds and   
then the light died away. Orrin looked at it with concern and Washu   
noticed it too.  
"What was that?" she asked.  
"Something happened, and the Star Gem doesn't like it." Orrin   
said.  
Orrin pulled out the sword hilt and held it in his hands. He   
closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on the stone. The world around   
him dropped away and he was in another place. He could just barely make   
out the forms of Darkling in the distance, but he could clearly see a   
cloaked man and small girl. The man was on his knees and the little   
girl was kissing him, the vision blurred and then the man was naked and   
the little girl was now a beautiful women. The two were locked in the   
middle of an erotic encounter, and he could feel an intense evil   
growning. The vision blured again and the man, naked, stood up and   
Orrin could feel immense power radiating from him, and he would feel   
immense evil as well.  
When he came out of the vision Washu was at his side with her arms   
around his shoulders. She was looking at him with intense worry on her   
face, and a few tears in her eyes.  
"It frightens me when you fade out like that." she said.  
"A Regent has been born." Orrin said.  
"What is a Regent?" she asked.  
"Among the Darklings, there are Regises, which are the queen   
mothers of a hive. The Regent is a fertile male of the Darkling race,   
and is able to assist the Regis in breeding pure Darklings that do not   
need to mature as much as the ones she can create by seeding others with   
bits of herself." Orrin explained.  
"How powerful are Regents?" Washu asked.  
"A thousand times more powerful than the Darklings we faced in   
your lab." he said.  
"Oh God!" she said.  
"Its worse, with the aid of a Regent the Regis can now breed more   
Regises to build more hive colonies." he continued.  
"This is extremely bad, isn't it." she said.  
"Its is a nightmare come true." he said as he put her arms around   
her.  
  
Back at the Masaki house, everyone in Washu's lab could hear the   
sound of snapping two-by-fours and cracking plaster as the ground   
rumbled again. Inside the subspace lab they were not effected by the   
violent earthquake going on in realspace just beyond the lab door.   
Tenchi and Sakuya from the alternate dimensions were sitting together   
under a tree in the lab garden. Tenchi noticed how the two were drawn   
to each other, and smiled. He felt a little envious of his alternate   
self as he sat there talking to her. He remembered all the time he had   
with Sakuya, and although it was only a short time he relished all the   
good memories he had of her. Aeka and Ryoko were the here and now, and  
he could feel their love form him flowing through him like a cool stream   
on a hot day. He turned to look at them were they sat together talking,   
getting to know each other better, and putting all of their differences   
away forever. It was good to see them becoming friends since they will   
be living the rest of their lives together with him as his wives.   
Sasami and Mihoshi from the alternate diemnsions were sitting playing a   
game of Soul Edge on her Playstation, and she was kicking the bounty   
hunter's butt on the game as usual. Nagi from the alternate dimensions   
sat with the real Mihoshi and Khyone talking about differences in the   
Galaxy Police in their two universes. Yosho and his father, Noboyuki,   
were just wandering the lab looking things over. Kryton stood by the   
door to the lab so he could reach outside with his sensors. Aeka and   
Ryoko from the alternate dimensions sat together near Tenchi discussing   
what they should do when she return to their Tenchi. He listened to   
their plan to to help him, and themselves. He realized just how much   
they loved him, and that made him think of his own Aeka and Ryoko. That   
thought caught their attention and they looked at him and smiled at him  
lovingly. Tenchi walked over to the alternates of his two wives and sat   
down with them.  
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." he said.  
"We decided to set out differences aside and do something to help   
our Tenchi." the other Ryoko said.  
"We love you, uh, him very much and we can't bare to see him like   
this anymore." the other Aeka said.  
"I wish you two luck. Do you want some advice?" he asked.  
"Of course." Aeka said.  
"Both of you marry him. If he is like me he wants both of you, so   
why not settle your differences like that." he said.  
The alternate of Ryoko and Aeka looked at each other and back at   
Tenchi for a second. At first he thought they were going to laugh at   
him, but to his surprise they smiled. "We will do that." they both said   
in unison.  
"Good girls." he said with a smile.  
Tenchi go up and walked over to his Aeka and Ryoko and sat with   
them. They looked at him questioningly. They were unable to understand   
the mix of thoughts and emotions in him at that moment.  
"They are going to marry their Tenchi, and try to help him get   
over this problem he had." he told them.  
"Good for them." Aeka smiled.  
"It would be nice, if we survive all this to send them back home."   
Ryoko said.  
Tenchi took both women in his arms and kissed them. "We will   
survive this, I promise." he said.  
  
The first of three Darkling gunships dropped out of warp right   
next to the Kryton and started opening fire. The green energy blasts   
impacted the shields sending a ripple through it like water. Inside   
Washu held onto Orrin to keep her balance until Orrin punched up a seat   
for her right next to his.  
"Kryton how is that magnetic bottle coming!" Orrin shouted.  
"Almost finished, sire." the ship replied.  
"The shields are holding up, but that might be for long because   
two more of those ships just dropped out of warpspace." Washu said as   
she watched the holoscreens on the bridge.  
"Damn!" Orrin cursed.  
"I am deploying a portable shield generator to contain the dark   
matter we've collected." Kryton said.  
"Good." Orrin said   
"Done, dark matter is now contained in a seperate shield." Kryton   
announced.  
Orrin's hands flew across his holopad console and the ship raced   
away from the Darkling gunship at a great speed. He turned the Kryton   
around, targeted the attacker and opened up with all four of the ship's   
forward cannons. Two of the cannons were pulse weapons that fired white   
bursts of energy, and the other two were burst weapons that fired   
straight beams. They impacted the shields on the Darkling gunship,   
pierced through, and tore massive holes in its side. A second volley   
from the Kryton as it passed over the gunship blew the Darkling ship in   
half. The two pieces of the gunship drifted for a short distance in   
space before both exploded violently. The two other gunships dropped  
out of warpspace and opened fire on the Kryton. These were a different   
configuration with stronger shields and weapons. Orrin dodge their fire   
and targetted them. The two Darkling ships easily dodged the shots from   
the Kryton, and one scored a hit to the shields on the rear section. This almost sent Washu flying out of her seat but Orrin's quick arm   
caught her in time.  
"You'd better hold on, this is going to get rough." he told her.  
"Maybe I can help." she said as she summoned her holopad.  
Washu keyed in a few commands into her holopad and she snickered   
to herself at her brilliance. On her shoulders Washu-bots A and B   
popped up cheering, "You can do it Washu! Your the greatest Washu!  
You Go Washu!" Orrin just laughed, because he saw this display a few   
times in the lab, and while they were making love too. He though it was   
funny, and realized that after 20,000 years you do become a little   
eccentric.  
Orrin set course for a nearby nebula in the hopes of loosing the   
two Darkling gunships in the dust and gas. The electromagnetic   
interferance of the cloud might be enough to scramble their sensors,  
he thought, but it would also render the autotargeting system on the   
Kryton useless. That would mean that he would have target the weapons   
manually. Suddenly, two black portals opened up behind the Kryton and   
two massive asteroids came floating out at a fast speed. The first of   
the two Darkling gunships dodge around the asteroids, but the second one   
was not so lucky. It collided with the first asteroid, spun around like   
a top, and smashed into the second one and exploded.  
"I'm so good sometimes I scare myself." Washu smiled.  
  
On the bridge of the great ship, the girl-child, now dressed in a   
new white dress stomped her foot in anger. The man, in his cloak again,   
laughed inperiously. The holodisplay was showing the fight between the   
Kryton and the Darkling gunships. They witness the demise of the first   
gunship as it was blasted to pieces, but whst try enraged the child was   
the way the second vessel was taken out. She stomped up to the cloaked   
man and looked up at him.  
"I told you. Washu is very resourceful." the man said.  
"It is of no matter. At least they are distracted from returning   
to Earth, and they are kept from closing the rift." the child snorted.  
"Your miffed because your best soldiers cannot kill the champion   
of the Elo'Quin." the man said with a laugh.  
"Beware, you may be the Regent now, but you can be replaced." the   
child said darkly.  
"Any status from the forces you sent to Earth?" the man asked   
without concern.  
"They are due to arrive soon. You will have that which you most   
desire soon." the child said.  
"Excellent." he said.  
  
Kryton dove into the clouds of the nebula and the ship shuttered   
as it broke through the surface tension of the cloud. Static filled the   
screens as the eletromagnetic interferance started to effect the   
sensors. Orrin concentrated on the screens and what little view they   
gave of the outside. The whole scene reminded Washu of this one Star   
Trek movie she watched with Tenchi and the others one day where the   
Enterprise went into a nebula to avoid a deadly enemy. She tapped on   
her holopad for a few seconds and the interferance started to subside a   
bit. It was not gone but it was enough for Orrin to see clearly now.  
"Thank you." he said and she kissed his cheek.  
"Consider it a present from me to you, sweetheart." she said.  
"If we live through this, I am going to make love to you again."   
Orrin said.  
Washu swooned. "I know you will. I need more samples." she   
smiled.  
Orrin blushed furiously and Washu cackled like a schoolgirl.  
  
Kryton stood by the entrance to Washu's lab and heard the sound of   
heavy beams falling and walls crashing in as Tenchi's house fell apart.   
Another very violent earthquake was striking again. It was then that he   
detected the signature of several dozen Darklings. They were traveling   
though subspace towards the lab. He turned, ran to where and his wives   
were sitting.  
"Lord Tenchi, I have three dozen Darkling signatures approaching,   
sire." he reported.  
"Shit!" Ryoko cursed as she stood up.  
"Company is coming!" Tenchi shouted.  
Everyoe was on their feet, Aeka and Ryoko changed to their   
battlegear in a flash of light, and Noboyuki and the alternate Tenchi   
took Sakuya to a safe hiding place behind a few large boulders. Tenchi  
called up a single Light Hawk Wing, grasped it, and changed it to the   
Light Hawk Sword. He tossed the Tenchi-Ken to Yosho who had been   
sitting, he stood up, caught the sword, and ignited it all in one  
motion. Nagi, Mihoshi, and Khyone pulled out modified versions of their   
blasters equipment with special stones that added a bit of ethereal   
energy to their shots. It had been Kryton who modified their weapons so   
they could help fight the Darklings since their ordinary weapons would   
have no effect without magic. The alternate Mihoshi powered up her   
modified weapons and took a battle stance next to Yosho. This time they   
were ready for them.  
  
Kryton shuddered as several powerful energy blasts narrowly  
missed his hull. Orrin's hands raced across the holopad controls as  
he tried to evade the shots. The automatic targeting system on the   
Kryton was not working in the interferance caused by the dust and  
electromagnetic forces in the nebula, so he had to target the  
weapons manually. This would mean turning the ship in just the right  
direction to target the Darkling gunship. What was making things even  
worse we the arrive of two more gunships from warpspace. Now  
instead of just one target to deal with, he now had three.  
Washu's hands raced over her own holopad as she looked for a way  
to help the young prince in his effort to take out the gunships. She  
tried the trick, with asteroids again, but the gunships seemed prepared  
for it this time. A thought came to her mind and she tried to hack  
into the main computer of one of the gunships. She broke through the  
security system with ease and accessed the main control program. What  
sbe saw there was impressive and frightening. She had access to the  
entire Darkling data network. She had her computer record what it   
coiuld and then started her real work. She called up a nasty little  
computer virus she developed some time ago and recompiled it so it  
would run on the Darkling computer sysems. She inserted it into the  
gunship computer and sent it to work.  
Washu smiled and laughed. "This is almost better than sex, well  
almost." she said.  
The virus took control of the ship and locked out all the control  
consoles on the bridge. Control of all ship systems was transfered to  
Washu's holopad. From her seat next to Orrin she directed the gunship  
to change course and open fire on the other two with its weapons.  
Orrin looked at her after seeing one of the gunships turn around  
and fire on one of its onw.  
"Did you do that?" he asked with amazement.  
"I am not the greatest scientific genius in the universe for  
nothing." she said. Washu-bots A and B popped up again cheering her on.  
  
Orrin took advantage of the confusion caused by the roque gunship  
that Washu controlled and dove the Kryton into the middle of the   
firefight. He opened up with all forward weapons, blowing one of the  
gunships to bits. The ship raced through the expanding ball of gas  
that had once been the gunship, and released a volley of anti-matter  
torpedoes from a rear launcher. The torgedoes were manually targeted by  
Kryton himself and they hit the two remaining gunships. The explosions  
tore both ships to pieces.  
"That seemed a little too easy." Washu said.  
"Actually no, if the Kryton was not made using Etherealology we  
would be dead right now." Orrin told her.  
"You mean that those ships were magic too?" she asked.  
"Yes, and muntain technology would have had no effect on them." he  
replied.  
"That's what gives them their edge. Not every race knows that  
magic really exists." she surmised.  
"Correct." Orrin said.  
  
The cloaked man laughed out loud as the three gunships dropped off  
sensor screen on the bridge of the great ship. The little girl-child   
humpfed angrily and glowered at him.  
"The Setari is a greater threat then we previous thought." she  
said.  
"And, you see how clever Washu is." the man said.  
"Yes, her scientific prowess is impressive. If she could be   
seeded she would make an excellent addition." the child said.  
"You'd never be able to get her. She is far too clever for you  
to ever catch her." the man said.  
"You once captured her and imprisoned her." the child commented.  
"I got lucky. She never suspected I would turn on her." the man  
replied.  
"Why are they collecting dark matter?" the child asked suddenly.  
"Its has unique properties, and one of those is the ability to  
stabalize and close quantum rifts." the man answered.  
"We cannot let them live to reach Earth. We will deal with this  
Setari and Washu ourselves." the child said. She turned towards the  
creatures and humanoids on the bridge. "Set course for the Setari's  
ship, flank speed." she ordered.  
  
The second the attack came Tenchi realized that they were out-  
classed. These new Darklings must be 2nd stage, he thought, as he  
summoned more Light Hawk Wings around himself. These creatures were  
taller than the first, they were not humanoid but had six tenticles,  
and had an elongated head that remembered the face of the creatres form the movie Aliens. They had no wings or spikes on their bodies, and  
they were all black from front to back, but on the tops of their heads  
they still had those strange crystaline horns.  
What also made these Darkling so different was the speed that  
they moved. The teleported from place to place faster than Ryoko could  
move, and they unleached powerful blasts of green energy from their  
fanged mouths. The beats were able to fly for limited distances using  
flaps of flesh that expanded out between their tenticles, and the ends  
of two of their tenticles ending in sharp sword-like blades. It took  
all the skill he could muster to deflect their attacks and he could  
see that everyone else with exception of his grandfather was having a  
hard time dealing them the creatures. Tenchi was thrown serveral times  
by powerful unseen forces across the lab, and then blasted by one of  
creature's breath weapons.  
Ryoko had summoned up her own Light Hawk Wings and was fighting  
for her life. She was doing her best to keep the attacking Darklings  
at bay but it was almost no use. These monsters were immensely  
powerful. Using the limited flight power of the wings, Ryoko rushed  
to where Aeka was struggling to maintain her force field to protect  
Noboyuki, Sakuya and the alternate Tenchi. Three Darklings hit her  
light hawk wings at the same time with their breath weapons and she  
felt as if she might loose on control over them. She was enraged at  
this point and dove in at them. This took the creatures by surprise at  
first, but then they counterattacked. It was too late for one of the  
monsters, however, as Ryoko's light hawk sword beheaded one of them.  
Tenchi saw the flash of green light and knew it was a Darkling  
biting at the dust at his wife's hands. He sent her a reasurring  
thought and went on the offensive himself. It was time they started  
upping the antti a bit. He leaped up, summoned the limited flight  
power of the wings, and sailed over the creatures attacking him. He  
landed behind them and slashed them from behind. They squealed in  
pain and spun around to strike with their their sword tenticles. They  
turned around only to find him gone. Tenchi phased up out of the floor  
behind the creatures again and advanced on one before it knew he was  
there and lobbed off its head. The green blast alerted the others  
and they turned and fired off their breath weapons sending Tenchi  
flying into a nearby wall.  
Mihoshi and Khyone were running around through the lab firing  
their weapons at anything that looked like a Darkling. The beams were  
having an effect, but they were not every powerful. Two Darklings  
pounced on them and forced the two GP officers to the floor. They  
picked them up in their tenticles and held them up to their hideous  
faces. The crystal horns on top of their heads started to glow and  
the two women started to stuggle. Suddenly, a blue misty aura formed  
around the two women and it started to drift up towards the crystaline  
horns on the Darkling's heads. The women screemed as if in the throws  
of an incrediably powerful organsm, since to females the feeling of  
being drained of your lifeforce by a Darkling produced just such a  
sensation. Only in this case it was amplified a hundred times.   
Tenchi heard the scremas and looked up from where he fell  
and saw the whole scene. The two women were screaming, their bodies  
were twitching violently, and he could see the blue energy rising up  
from them. He suddenly relazed what he was seeing was two Darklings  
feeding!  
"NO!" he cried as he charged the two Darklings.  
The two creatues looked at him in time to see his light hawk  
sword come down on their necks killing them instantly. The two women  
fell to the floor after the bodies that held them disolved and lay on  
the floor in fetal positions twitching with small sobbs.  
He kneeled down next to them and they leaped up and hugged him  
letting out great cries. "Its going to be alright, they're gone." he  
tried to tell them, but there were more Darklings in the lab fighting  
with the others.  
"I dont't want to feel like that ever again." Khyone cried. "It  
was like pain and pleasure all at the same time."  
Tenchi held them both close to him and let their sobs slowly  
subside. "Will you be alright, the others need my help." he said.  
Khyone looked into his eyes and wipped away the tears. "Kick  
their asses into the next universe for us, Tenchi." she said in a very  
vemonous voice.  
"Anything you say, pretty lady." he said as he stood up.  
  
The heavily modified version of the Soja dropped out of warpspace  
and started firing on the Kryton with its powerful weapons. Orrin   
dodged around the first few shots, but one hit and it sent Washu flying  
across the bridge. She landed hard on her rump, groaned in indigantion,  
and crawled back into her seat next to Orrin. She scanned the ship  
with her holopad and made a discovery that shocked her. The eneergy  
signatures of the weapons matched the original Soja, but how?  
The Kryton was now out of the nebula and flying towards the   
collection of dark matter they left behind. Kryton caught the shield  
generator with a tractor beam and they towed it along after them. The  
beams of the Soja traced around them as the ship weaved through them.  
"That thing is power." Orrin said.  
"It should be, I built it...its the same ship." Washu said.  
"Someone salvaged it?" Orrin said.  
"That's the only explanation I have right now." Washu replied.  
Suddenly the stone on the Star Gem Sword flared again, and then  
dimmed slowly.  
"Oh, God! What now?" Washu asked.Washu and"Kryton, take control for a few minutes." Orrin said as he took sword hilt in his   
hands again and concentrated.  
Orrin found himself in Washu's lab, but it was different place.  
The chamber was a mess with shattered walls, the tanks holding her  
exotic sea creatures smashed, and all sorts of different pieces of   
equipment destroyed. He heard the sound of battle behind him and he  
looked to Tenchi and the others fighting a despirate battle to survive  
against 2nd stage Darklings. There were perhaps three dozen of the  
creatures attacking them. He witnessed Mihoshi and Khyone's attack and  
their rescue by Tenchi. He felt helpless since he was unable to help  
them. He wished them good luck, then heard a gasp. He looked and saw  
little Sasami looking straight as him. Standing beside her was a women  
who looked like an older version of her. Tsunami realized.  
"Help them." Tsnuami pleaded.  
"I can't, I'm not really here." he replied.  
"They can't hold out much longer." Sasami cried.  
"Washu and I are on our way back." he said.  
"It will be too late by then." Tsunami said.  
Orrin was suddenly back on the bridge of the Kryton. He was on   
the floor and Washu was crying over him. He sat up and held her close  
to him. The ship was struck by a powerful energy blast that shook the  
deck violently.  
"You completely collapsed. I thought you died." she cried. Her  
shoulders were shacking.  
"Our friends are fighting a terrible battle back at your lab.  
They are up against 2nd stage Darklings." he said.  
"How are they doing?" she asked wiping away the tears.  
"Not too good." he admitted. "Sasami could see me, and I saw a  
women, Tsunami I think."  
"They could see you?" Washu asked.  
"Yes." he said.  
"That means you astro projected there!" she exclaimed, and she  
leaped up to her holopad. She started tapping at it furiously and then  
smiled back at him. Washu-bots A and B popped up and cheered her on  
again. "Your the greatest, Washu! You can do it Washu! Go get'um  
Washu!"  
"You have an idea?" he asked as he sat back down beside her.  
"Its a hunch, but if you can astro project yourself that far  
across space, then maybe you can use that line-of-sight teleportation  
power you said you have." she said.  
"I never tried it like that before." he said.  
Washu smiled lovingly at him. "There is a first time for every-  
thing, my dear."  
She finished her typing and some data came across her screen. She  
frwoned at it and then looked at him. "You have a one in ten thousand  
chance of being killed instantly if you try it." she said with a frown.  
Orrin grabs her hand and holds up the sword hilt. "What's wrong,  
do you really want to live forever." he said. Before she could say  
anything he concentrated on the gem again and astro projected back to  
the lab. They were both there together witnessing their friends loosing  
the battle. Suddenly, Orrin's body started to glow as she summoned his  
power of teleportation. On the bridge of the Kryton the two suddenly  
vansihed with a flash of light. In the lab, Orrin and Washu appeared  
after a violent blast of light and sound. The Darklings looked towards  
the disturbance and suddenly felt the presence of the Star Gem Sword  
and its power. Orrin summoned the blade of the weapon and threw him-  
self into the battle.  
Tenchi witnessed Washu and Orrins's appearance and blinked in  
surprise, but then smiled with glee as Orrin launched into the fight  
with his sword charged up. Washu summoned her holopad and started to  
call up the automated defenses of the lab. Dozens of small blasters,  
each modified using a magical gem to strenghten them, started firing on  
the Darklings. Orrin teleported around the chamber at lightning speed  
almost as fast as the Darklings themselves, and beheaded three of them  
before they even knew he was there. Seeing their alien friend now  
joined in the fight gave the others new strength and determination,   
and they ran into the frey.  
Ryoko's withering light hawk wings were renewed with a new  
power and she charged issuing a loud battlecry like Tarzan's call of  
the wild. She sung her sword, deflecting several tenticle sword  
strikes, and beheading two other Darklings. The tide of the battle  
suddenly turned against the Darklings as everyone charged in and  
join Orrin.  
  
The last Darkling was killed by Orrin and the alternate  
Ryoko fighting together, and they landed on the floor of the lab  
out of breath and exhausted. Tenchi and the others ran up to them,  
and Washu threw her arms around Orrin. He collapsed to the  
floor and she helped him sit up. Kryton ran up to them and  
announced that his ship body was in orbit now, and that the  
Soja was following not far behind. This caught the attention of  
both Ryokos.  
"What do you mean the Soja?" they asked in unison.  
"We fight a ship exactly like the Soja, but this one was   
altered by the Darklings." Washu said.  
"But I destroyed the Soja when we fought Kagato." Tenchi said.  
"It looks like they put it back together." Orrin said.  
"At least that bastard Kagato is dead." Ryoko said.  
  
On the bridge of the Soja the cloaked man watched the child   
scream in indignation at the holoscreen as her Darkling forces began to   
wink out of existsnace one after another. He just laughed and then   
turned to her and looked her in the eyes.  
"Tenchi Masaki must be behind this." he said.  
"That and the champion of the Elo'Quin. He is no longer on the  
Setari ship." the child spat.  
"How is that possible? Even Ryoko cannot teleport that far."  
the man said.  
"Don't underestimate Elo'Quin magic." the child warned.  
"Don't underestimate the power of the Light Hawk Wings." the man  
said.  
"Perhaps its time we dealt with this situation ourselves." the   
child said.  
The man looked at her for a second, and then smiled an evil grin  
from under his cloak.  
"I knew you'd like that idea." the child smiled seductively back  
at him and transformed into an adult form wearing a tight black battle  
suite.  
"Let us go then." the man said.  
  
Back in the subspace lab everyone was recovering from the fight  
with the Darklings. The lab itself was trashed with almost everything  
destroyed, and this really annoyed Washu. She sat with Orrin who was  
feeling drained from the fight and from teleporting both of them over  
such a vast distance of several lightyears. She rubbed his back with  
her hand and squeezed his hand which she held in her hand. She knew he  
would be leaving once the rift was closed, but she would give him all  
the love she had while he was here.  
"We collected a great deal of dark matter, so I hope is will he  
enough." Washu explained to the others.  
"The Soja is five minutes from Earth orbit, sire." Kryton warned.  
"I can't believe they found the wreckage of the Soja." Ryoko  
said. "Of all the ships in the universe, why that one?"  
"Kryton, start moving the dark matter into the containment unit  
so we can get it into the rift." Orrin ordered.  
"Doing that now. How are we going to insert the dark matter into  
the rift, sire?" Kryton asked.  
"We need to shoot the containment unit into the rift and blow it  
open at thr right moment or the dark matter will not have an effect."  
Washu said.  
Orrin stood up and he looked into her eyes. He saw her love for  
him there and he wished he could stay here with her forever, but he  
knew his destiny was elsewhere. He longed to be in her arms again, but  
knew it would be possible. He held her and kissed her passionately  
feeling as if he could never let her go, but he parted from her and   
walked backwards away from her.  
"This part is way to dangerous to risk any of you." he said.  
"What are you saying, I am coming with you to help." Washu said.  
"No, if I don't make it back from this, remember me." he said and  
suddenly he held up his sword, the Star Gem flared for a second, and  
then he and the avitar Kryton vanished.  
"I love you, Washu." came his voice as if from a far away place.  
"NO! Come back to me!" Washu cried as she tried to reach him, but  
it was too late. She collapsed to the floor and revereted to her   
younger self and cried into her hands. Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko kneeled  
down beside her and patted her shoulder reassuringly, but nothing would  
consul her. Tenchi put her head to his chest and let the scientist cry  
her eyes out. All they do now was wait to be saved, or wait for the  
world to end.  
_____________  
End of Chapter Nine...  
  
The conclusion of Episode One: Chapter Ten - The Final Encounter is   
coming soon...stay tuned for Episode Two.  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic series let me know at zorch@the-zorch.com. 


	6. The Dark Lord of Jurai - Episode 1: Chap...

DISCLAIMER: The Tenchi Muyo character are the property of AIC and  
Pioneer respectively. I receive no monatary compensation for the  
production of this work of fiction.  
__________  
DETAILS: This is the start of a three episode epic saga set in  
a bybtid mix of OAV, Tenchi Universe, and the Shin Tenchi. A few  
chatacters and creations used in this fan fic are my own design  
that took me years to develop. This epic will start a whole series  
of other stories that plan to maintain well into the future.  
__________  
  
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI SAGA  
  
Episode One: No Need for Shattered Realities  
  
Written by Michael "The-Zorch" Haney  
__________  
Previously in our story...  
  
Tenchi, his two brides, and the rest of the visitors take a well  
deserved rest from the chaos of the past few days, but their holiday  
is shortlived as the Darklings return in force. Prince Orrin and  
Washu return from an outing to collect dark matter just in time to  
save them all from the horrible creatures. Earthquakes have started to  
effect the Earth as the orbit of the moon begins to shift. Worse,  
the Darkling queen regis is planning something viciuos for Tenchi and  
the gang. When we last left our heroes the second battle with the  
vile Darklings in Washu's lab has ended, and Orrin has teleported away  
leaving Washu behind to protect her while he risks himself to save the  
Earth...  
  
And now the conclusion of Episode One!  
__________  
Chapter Ten - The Final Encounter...  
  
Part One...The Regent and An Old Enemy Returns...  
  
The floor of Washu's lab began to heave and shake. Washu looked  
up in shock from Tenchi's arms and looked around at her ruined lab and  
instantly knew what was happening. She pushed herself away from Tenchi  
and called up her holopad. She keyed in several commands furiously and  
took in a sharp breath. She suspected that something like this might  
happen but she didn't expect it this soon.  
"Get out of here! The subspace strata of my lab is collapsing!"  
she shouted.  
Tenchi was about to form a question to the red headed genius when  
suddenly a large portion of the lab broke appear and fell away into a   
vast black void of nothingness. Everyone was on their feet at that  
moment and they ran for the lab entrance. They filed out of the door as  
fast as they could in twos and threes. Yosho and Sakuya were the last  
to leave the lab just before it complete vanished. With a flash of  
light the broom closet was once again a broom closet. Washu looked at  
it disdainfully.  
"Oh, well. I can always rebuild it." she said.  
"What happened, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked her.  
"The spacial distortions from the rift caused my lab to collapse."  
Washu explained.  
The ground heaved again, but this time it was due to an earth-  
quake. Tenchi looked around at his father's house and was amazed there  
was not anymore damage. Some of the rafters that Ryoko liked to sleep  
on were collapsed, a few walls were cracked, but all in all the house  
survived. The earthquake hit again, but stronger this time and dust  
began to sift down through cracks in the ceiling. Washu looked at  
something on her holopad and then looked up at the ceiling.  
"I'm afraid your house of about to come down, Tenchi. The main  
support beam in the attic is the only thing holding it up right now."  
she said.  
"Then lets get the hell out of here!" Ryoko exclaimed.  
Everyone left the house quickly and discovered that the air was  
now warm instead of cold. In the distance they could the lights of   
fires, the sounds of sirens, and low rumbled caused by thousands of  
people screaming in panic. The nearby town, the closest bit of  
civilization near the Masaki residence was in total chaos. Washu   
checked her holopad again and whistled.  
"Mt. Fuji has errupted into a volcano again. Also, the magma has  
risen several hundred feet in this region, which is creating this   
abnormally warm weather." she said. "The tempature of the lake is  
going up...it might actually start to boil if the heat goes up anymore."  
"Can you see what Prince Orrin is doing?" Aeka asked.  
Washu keyed in some more sequences into her holopad and an image  
appeared on her screen. They croweded around behind her as best they  
could and watched as the Kryton dodged around cannon fire from the  
modified Soja. The Kryton was returning fire but its shots were  
having very little effect on the shields of the larger ship. Suddenly,  
a large energy blast errupted from the Soja and hit the Kryton. Washu  
almost screamed out, but held her tounge. She had to focus, and no   
matter how much she grew to love the young prince in these past few  
days she had a family that depended on her to keep her wits sharp. She  
watched as the Kryton emerged from the blast unharmed and started   
firing back.  
"It looked like he has his hands full." Tenchi said.  
An alarm went off on the holopad at that moment.  
Washu's hands flew over the holopad just then. A wireframe view   
of the Masaki residence suddenly displayed. Several dozen red dots  
begaan to appear all around, near the shrine, near the lake, behind the  
house, and some near Ryoko's cave. In all there was over fifteen red  
dots on the screen. Washu rolled her eyes at them and sighed.  
"What is it, Miss Washu." Aeka asked.  
"More distortions. I think we are getting more visitors." Washu  
answered.  
At that moment Tenchi was tackled to the ground by a young girl  
who looked no more than sixteen years of age. She had blue hair done  
up in a twin ponytail style to Sasami's but they were nowhere near as  
long. She was wearing a short yellow dress with flowers all over it.  
She was hugging Tenchi, squeezing the air out of him, her head was on  
her chest, and she was smiling. Ryoko and Aeka suddenly turned red and  
Tenchi could feel rage building up in them through his link with them.  
"Oh, Daddy! I found you! I'm so scared!" the young girl yelled.  
"DADDY!!!!" Aeka and Ryoko shouted at once!  
The girl let Tenchi up, but she didn't let go of his arms. She  
clung to his side as if physically attached to him. She was a bit wild  
eyed with fear, and then she saw the others. Her eyes went wide when  
she saw two pairs of Aeka and Ryoko.  
"Daddy, why were there two of Aeka and Ryoko, and what is with  
the earthquakes?" the girl asked franticly.  
Washu passed a scanner over the young girl and then looked at her  
holopad. A very shocked expression showed on her face and this made  
Aeka and Ryoko turn white.  
"She is Tenchi's daughter!" she exclaimed.  
"Of course I am, you tested me remember." the girl said.  
Washu put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Sweetie, we aren't  
the people you think we are. Your here by accident. Your in another  
dimension."  
"Oh no! This must by mother's doing!" the girl shouted.  
"Who is your mother?" Ryoko asked.  
"Yuzha." the girl said.  
"WHAT!" Aeka screamed. She ran up to the girl and grabbed her by  
the shoulders. "Lord Tenchi would never have anything to do with that  
vile creature!"  
"Who the hell is Yuzha?" Ryoko asked.  
"She is the Dark Tree of the Underworld, a demon! Before we   
married Lord Tenchi I would have preferred you over her being his true  
love anyday." Aeka replied.  
"I'm not sure how to take that." Ryoko said.  
"What is your name?" Tenchi asked the girl.  
"Mayuka." she said a bit timidly.  
"That's a pretty name." Tenchi said.  
"Thank you, daddy." Mayuka said hugging him.  
"WOULD YOU STOP THAT!" Ryoko and Aeka shouted at once.  
Mayuka looked at them sternly. "Geez. You two sure haven't  
changed any at in another universe." she said.  
"Oh, yes we have. Tenchi is our husband in this universe." Ryoko  
said with her hands on her hips.  
"You and Aeka are married to Tenchi. Wow!" Mayuka said.  
"We have only been wed for a few days." Aeka explained.  
"Oh. How did you do it without them killing each other, daddy?"   
she asked him.  
"Its a long story." Tenchi said.  
  
The ground shook again and two women came running out of the  
night. They were Ryoko and Aeka, panic on their faces, and they  
appeared to be wearing school uniforms. Tenchi looked at them and   
realized that they looked good on the two. It was then that Ryoko  
appeared behind him, slapped him on the back of the head, and reminded  
him that she was the real Ryoko.  
"TENCHI!" they screamed as he was tackled to the ground a second  
time.  
"Get off, you, Tenchi's mine!" schoolgirl Ryoko shouted.  
"Tenchi would never want to be seen with a slacker like you!"   
schoolgirl Aeka shouted.  
"Oh ya, miss high and mighty student president!" schoolgirl Ryoko  
replied with a snarl.  
"EXCUSE US, BUT HE IS OURS!" the real Ryoko and Aeka shouted.  
The schoolgirl versions of Ryoko and Aeka looked at themselves  
standing over them and gasped in shock. They climbed off of Tenchi so  
he get up and Ryoko dusted him off.  
"Y-y-y-your me!" schoolgirl Ryoko exclaimed pointing to Ryoko.  
Ryoko looked over her duplicate self. "You know something Tenchi,  
your right I do look good in a school uniform." she said.  
"How can there be two of us?" schoolgirl Aeka asked. "And what   
is this about Tenchi being yours?"  
"He is our husband." Aeka said.  
"WHAT!" schoolgirls Ryoko and Aeka shout at once with shock on  
their faces. A few tears fall down their face as well.  
"Hold on girls! This isn't your Tenchi!" Washu said.  
"Miss Washu? What are you doing at Tenchi's? house, and Miss  
Kyone and Miss Mihoshi too?" schoolgirl Aeka asked.  
"Listen to me carefully." Tenchi said grabbing both schoolgirls  
by the shoulders. "This is another dimension, you are here by  
accident. We are trying to fix it but we ran into a few snags."  
"Another dimension!" schoolgirl Aeka shouted in disbelief.  
"Yes, and your Tenchi is back home safe and sound, and single."  
he replied.  
Washu ran a scanner over the two girls and then almost fell over  
laughing.  
"Hahaha! This is cute, these two are normal humans." she  
laughed.  
"What do you mean?" schoolgirl Ryoko asked.  
"Aeka is an alien princess, and I am a demon." Ryoko said.  
"A demon, how appropriate." schoolgirl Aeka said giving her rival  
a evil eye and folding her arms.  
"You bitch!" schoolgirl Ryoko growled in anger.  
"And, I'm her mommy." Washu said with a smile.  
The schoolgirl Ryoko looked liked she was about to faint.  
  
At that moment a short, blue haired child ran into the midst of  
them and grabbed into Tenchi. Ryoko and Aeka started to grumbled and  
wished every new visitor to their universe wouldn't latch onto their   
Tenchi. They suddenly realized that the girl who latched onto Tenchi  
was Sasami, but they saw the Sasami they knew standing next to Sakuya  
and Yosho.  
"Brother, what's happening?" she asked.  
Aeka and Ryoko looked at each other in surprise.  
The second Sasami looked up and saw three pairs of the girls who  
were always fighting over her brother. She saw one pregnant girl she  
never met before, Tenchi's teachers, and an exact copy of herself with   
Ryu-Ohki on her head. She also had a Ryu-Ohki on her head as well.  
"What is going on here? Tenchi what is happening?" she asked.  
Washu scnnned Sawami with her scanner. "Human too, but she has a  
strange energy signature similar to Prince Orrin's." she said.  
Tenchi kneels down in front of the other Sasami who looked at him  
in surprise and shock. "Sasami, you called me brother." he said.  
"Of course, I'm your sister." she said.  
"I'm not who you think I am. Your here by accident...this is..."  
he tried to explain but tears started falling down Sasami's face.  
The real Sasami ran up to her duplicate. "What he's trying to  
say is, Dorathy, your not in Kansas anymore." she said.  
"Miya." Ryu-Ohki added.  
"Is this another reality?" the other Sasami asked herself.  
"It sure is. So your Tenchi's sister in your universe?" she said.  
"Ya. What are you in this one?" the other Sasami asked.  
"A Princess from the planet Jurai." Sasami smiled.  
The other Sasami gasped, but was in response to the name of the  
planet.  
"I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but its time for you  
all to die now." came a dark voice.  
  
They all turned around suddenly to and saw a tall women wearing a  
type of battlegear and a cloaked man walking up to them. Behind them  
marched an army of twenty 2nd stage Darklings. The human Ryoko and  
Aeka both passed out on the ground and the human Sasami took on a fight-  
ing stance.  
"Now what?" Washu said as she ignited her lightsword.  
"You don't recognize me, Washu." the man said.  
"Should I know you." Washu replied.  
"Ryoko should know me quite well." the man replied.  
Ryoko gasped. Tenchi grabbed her as she started to suffer a  
terrifle seizure. "No, no, it can't be!" she screamed.  
The man pulled back his hood to reveal his narrow face, the small  
specticles on his nose, and the cruel eyes. His hear fell down in long  
grey locks down his back.  
"Kagato." Tenchi said through clenched teeth.  
"I'm glad you remember me, Tenchi Masaki. I will never forget  
you, however." Kagato said.  
  
Washu was about to ask something when she felt a tap on her  
shoulder. She turned around and found herself looking at...herself.  
"Let me guess. Mihoshi was playing with the Dimensional Tuner  
again?" the other Washu asked.  
"Fraid not. We have something far more serious this time." Washu  
said.  
"What could be worse than Mihoshi?" the other Washu asked.  
"Just look." Washu said pointing to Kagato and the strange  
woman.  
"Oh." was all the other Washu could say.  
  
Ryoko recovered from her seizure and stood up. She ignited her  
light sword, teleported out of Tenchi's arms, and appeared behind  
Kagato. She was about to stab him through the back when he suddenly  
teleported out of harms way, and appeared heside her. Ryoko was   
stunned by this move, and was suddenly struck by a invisible force  
that sent her flying into the house and through a wall.  
"I am a thousand times stronger since the last time we met, my  
dear Ryoko." Kagato said.  
The space pirate climbed out of the wreckage of the wall she just  
smashed through and flew over to Tenchi.  
"I see you and the Princess Aeka are still chasing that pathetic  
human." Kagato spat.  
"This pathetic human cleaned your clock the last time you met  
him." Ryoko growled.  
"That was then, this is now." Kagato said, and his eyes began to  
glow red with an evil light.  
Washu looked up from her holopad and her face was pale. "Oh, god.  
Tenchi, he's a Darkling."  
"Not just any Darkling, he is a Regent." the woman spoke for the  
first time.  
"A...Regent." Washu said in fear remembering what Orrin had told   
her.  
"What's a Darkling?" the other Washu asked.  
"Those things." Washu points to the creatures behind Kagato.  
The other Washu summons her holopad and starts tapping rapidly.  
She looked up at the creatures, a rye smile crosses her face, and Washu  
bots A & B pop up. "Your the best Washu! You can do it Washu!" they  
cheered.  
"That is soooo true." borh Washu's said at the same time.  
Ryoko just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Enough of this bravado, Kagato. Finished this so we can be on   
our way." the woman demanded.  
"Certainly my queen." Kagato said as he ignites his black energy  
sword.  
Tenchi ignites the Tenchi-ken and slowly advances on his old  
enemy. Ryoko with sword in hand joins him and is followed by the other  
Ryoko with her sword ignited.  
"Hmm. I see our rift has had unexpected side-effects on the  
fabric of reality." Kagato said seeing the additional Ryokos.  
"Miss Washu, who is that guy, and what are those creatures?" the  
human Sasami asked.  
"He is an old enemy of ours who has become more of a monster. Now  
only magic can harm him." Washu explained.  
Sasami suddenly smiled. "Did you say magic can harm him?" she  
asked.  
"Yes, and those monsters over there too." Washu answered in a bit  
of confusion. She hated it when someone knew something she didn't.  
"Stand back!" the human Sasami shouts as she suddenly weilds a   
large septer with a heart shaped gem on the end.  
"Transform now and lets help them." the other Ryu-Ohki on the  
human Sasami's head says in perfect Japanese.  
Sasami watches her alternate reality self shout several strange  
archaic words into the air and the heart shaped stone on the end of the  
septer starts to glow. She watches in fasination she the other Sasami  
undergoes an elaborate transformation. She blushes furiously when this  
transformation has her appear totally naked for a few minutes, and when   
it is over her duplicate is standing is one of the most hilarious and  
revealing outfits she has ever seen.  
"I AM MAGICAL GIRL PRETTY SAMMY!" the other Sasami finishes her  
tranformation with a shout.  
Sasami looks down at herself to find she is wearing the same   
outfit.  
"Eeek! What am I wearing?" she cries.  
Ryu-Okhi jumps off of Sasami's head and looks at her. The other  
Ryu-Ohki joins her and looks back and forth between the two.  
"I guess because your both Sasami the magic got confused. Oh   
well." the other Ryu-Ohki said.  
"Miya?" Ryu-Ohki moewed a question.  
"Hum, I can't speak human in this dimension, huh?" the other Ryu-  
Ohki asked the real Sasami.  
"Not in cabbit form, but as a cabbit-girl she can." Sasami said.  
"Cabbit-girl!" the other Ryu-Ohki said leaping into the air. He  
hopped over to his alternate self and started sniffing her.  
"Oh, no. I'm a girl in this dimension." he said.  
Pretty Sammy giggled. "I'm glad you find this so funny." the   
other Ryu-Ohki grumbled.  
The sound of clashing energy swords distracts them all as Tenchi  
and two Ryoko's take on Kagato. They watch in fascination as the one  
man fends off three attackers at once, and then bashs them all together  
with a massive, invisible force. Tenchi and girls collapse into a heap  
at Kagato's feet, but not for very long when the two Ryoko's teleport  
away and Tenchi summons the Light Hawk Wings.  
  
The woman who was with Kagato watches with awe at Tenchi's power  
and she recognizes it. She suddenly panics and then hears a voice at  
the back of her mind.  
-- Kagato must not fall. We need him. -- the voice said.  
"He is a Regent, mi'lord." she whispered to the voice.  
-- The one called Tenchi Masaki has the powers of a Guardian of  
Light, but does not realize it yet. -- the voice said.  
"How can that be?" the Regis asks.  
-- Every universe the Elo-Quin touches has a Guardian of Light,  
and we need Kagato for our campaign against Jurai that is to come. --  
the voice said.  
"What is your will, mi'lord?" the Regis asks.  
-- Kagato is young and does not yet understand the full extent  
of his powers. He will not survive this fight. Leave now and let your  
children deal with these. -- the voice said.  
"What of our deal with him?" she asks.  
-- Tell him we will fulfill our bargain, but in due time. -- the  
voice said.  
"As you will it, mi'lord." she said.  
  
Kagato slammed Tenchi into the ground with such force that his  
light hawk wings almost gave out, but was suddenly struck through the  
chest by Ryoko. He desolved, reformed in a another position and swung  
his black energy sword at her head. However, the second Ryoko, the real  
Ryoko blocked the move, and threw an energy ball into his face. Kagato  
stumbed back from the explosion and suddenly heard the voice of the  
Regis in his mind.  
-- This battle is ended, Kagato. Our lord and master commands  
it. --  
"I can defeat these fools!" Kagato seethed.  
-- Obey me! You will receive your part of the bargin in due  
time. --  
"As you wish." he spat.  
  
Kagato came out of the mental communication as all three of his  
attackers came at him. He raised his hand and launched three blasts of  
energy that stuck each one and sent them flying. After Tenchi landed  
his light hawk wings faded and he looked up at Kagato.  
"You win this round, Tenchi Masaki, but next time you will not be  
so lucky." Kagato spat before he teleported away. The Regis vanished  
soon after, and this left them alone with the army of Darklings that  
came with them.  
The creatures surged forwards snarling and screaming. Tenchi   
stood up, tried to summon the light hawk wing again, but felt too  
tired and battered to call them up. Suddenly, Sasami was at his  
side wearing the strangest outfit he ever saw. The skirt, he  
thought was way too short for a girl her age, and he turned red  
when he realized that when the wind blew he could see her rather  
revealing panties.  
"Don't worry, Tenchi, I'll deal with these." she said.  
Pretty Sammy lifted her heart jeweled septer, aimed it at the  
on rushing army of Darklings and shouted.  
"MAGICAL GIRL FLAMES OF VICTORY!" she exclaimed and a blast of  
flames shot out from the septer and obliterated a large number of the  
Darklings that were charging.  
Witnessing the power of this attack, the other Darklings suddenly  
pull back to regroup. They were met by a formitable force of multiple  
Ryokos and Aekas who suddenly appeared. Tenchi felt like he was about  
to faint when Pretty Sammy grabbed him.  
"Stay with me, Tenchi." she said.  
"This has been a hard day." he said.  
Ryoko, his Ryoko, materialized next to them. "The fight is almost  
over, lets get you out of here." she said.  
Ryoko teleport herself, Tenchi, and Pretty Sammy to the shrine.  
The rest of the family already gathered there as the army of Ryoko  
and Aeka alternates cleaned up the remaining Darklings. The two Washus  
were checking their holopads.  
"Organizing those Ryoko alternates was a stroke of Genius." Washu  
said.  
"Thanks. I like getting compliments from me." the other Washu  
chuckled. All four Washu-bots cheered the praises of Washu.  
Aeka, upon seeing Tenchi all battered and beaten ran to him and  
hugged him. "Oh, are you alright Lord Tenchi?" she asked after kissing  
him.  
"I feel like a freight truck ran over me multiple times." he said.  
Aeka kissed him again, followed by Ryoko. They smiled at him.  
"Maybe I feel a little better now." he smiled back.  
"I don't like this, why did he leave so soon? He had us." Ryoko  
asked.  
"He knows something we don't." Aeka said.  
"I know Kagato, he would not run from a fight he is winning unless  
there was something very serious about to happen." Ryoko commented.  
"Like the moon hitting the Earth." Washu said.  
"No, its something else..." Ryoko said putting a finger to her  
lips.  
"If we live through this I'll research it." Washu said.  
  
The ground began to shake again, and more violently. A part of   
the shrine building fell in. Yosho looked at it a little heartbroken,  
but Tenchi patted his shoulder.  
"We can rebuild it, grandpa." he said weakly.  
"Yes, but it was the original moldings from 700 years old." Yosho  
said with sadness.  
They were all silent for a moment, and then they were alerted by  
a bright flash of light in the sky. Instantly their thoughts turned to  
Prince Orrin in space. There was another bright light flash.  
"What is going on up there?" the other Washu asked.  
Washu had her holopad out and was typing to it furiously. The  
other Washu could see tears flowing down her alternate's face.  
"What's wrong?" she asked a little concerned.  
"The man I love is up there, and he is going to get himself  
killed if he isn't careful." Washu sobbed.  
"Hum. Maybe we can help him." the other Washu said as she called  
up her holopad.  
  
Part II - The Soja and Sacrafices Are Made...  
  
In space Prince Orrin was doing all he could to try and take out  
the Soja. The shields of the great ship were too powerful. He had to   
find another way. Orrin thought about the Starburst Unit but decided  
against it since it was never tested in combat conditions before. The  
ship was rocked by multiple direct hits and smoke began to billow into   
the bridge.  
"My shields are down to fifteen percent. I can't take anymore  
of this." Kryton said.  
"Everytime we tried to fly close to the rift they shoot off that  
primary cannon." Orrin said.  
"Well, another direct hit and we are finished." Kryton replied.  
Suddenly, Orrin had some inspiration. He called up his holo-  
console and started keying in commands. A holodisplay appeared next  
to him showing the energy shield of the Soja and then data on the shield  
began to stream in. The shield was cycling, which mean it was generated  
by multiple pulses that formed a solid barrier. This also meant that he  
could teleport through it.  
"I think I know what your proposing. I am syncronizing the  
transporter with the power cycle of their shields." Kryton said.  
"Do you always have to second guess me?" Orrin asked with a smile.  
"No, but then I know you too well." the ship said.  
"I'm glad you find me so predictable." Orrin said.  
"Not predictable, just consistantly suicidal." Kryton replied.  
"Your a good friend." Orrin smiled.  
"Syncronization done, I can teleport you there at any moment.  
My friend." Kryton said.  
Orrin stood up, took the Star Gem Sword in his hand and walked out  
into the middle of the bridge. "Alright, send me over..." he said.  
"Not without me!" came a voice from behind him.  
Orrin turned around, staggered back as a hand slapped his face,  
and then embraced Washu as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed  
him with all her passion.   
"What was the slap for?" Orrin asked, not bothering to ask the  
beautiful genius how exactly she managed to board the Kryton without  
either himself or Kryton knowing about it.  
"For running off like that on me back in the lab." she said.  
"I was only thinking of you." he said looking hurt.  
"Next time talk to me first." she said.  
"Yes, dear. Listen to me I already sound like I'm married to  
you." Orrin said with a smile.  
Washu looked at the data on the holoscreen. "Your teleporting  
through their shield, huh." she said.  
"Yes, to sabatoge their power core with these." he held out two  
small, flat devices.  
"What are they?" she asked.  
"Phoritic charges. The most powerful explosive known to the   
Setari Empire, just a few ounces are enough to destroy a small moon." he  
said.  
"Impressive. Let go!" Washu said.  
"NO, your staying on the Kryton." Orrin said.  
"How do you intend to stop me from coming. I'll just us my own  
portals, which is how I got here." Washu said with a wicked smile.  
Orrin looked down and sighed in defeat. He looked up at the  
beautiful red haired genius and he knew in his heart that leaving her  
behind to return to his home dimension was going to the most difficult  
thing he would ever do. He loved her, he wanted to stay with her, but  
as she had said once their destinies travel in different directions;  
they were just at a crossroads.  
"I love you, Washu." Orrin admitted.  
The genius sobbed as she replied, "I love you, Orrin."  
They held each other for what seemed like an eternity until their  
loving embrace was interrupted by the deck of the bridge shaking.  
"I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but we are still under  
attack out there." Kryton said.  
  
Orrin and Washu materialized somewhere near the engineering deck  
of the Soja. Washu's familiarity with the vessel was proving to be  
a godsend to Orrin as she lead him through a shortcut to the main power  
core. They were crawling through jeffies tubes to avoid running into  
Darkling crewmembers. They stopped at a junction point in the tubes and  
Washu summoned her holopad.  
"Ok, this tunnel leading down will take us into the main control  
center for the power core." she said.  
"Where is the best place to plant these charges?" he asked her.  
"The main power regulator and the primary ion eccelerator. Those  
two taken out will overload the core and then you can kiss this ship  
goodbye." she replied.  
"Lets get going." Orrin said. He mounted a ladder built into the  
side of the verticle jeffies tube and started climbing down. Washu  
followed after him. When they reached the bottom, Orrin crawled over to  
the access hatch. He lifted the Star Gem Sword and concentrated on the  
gemstone. He saw a vision of the control room and found it was empty.  
He opened the access hatch and crawled out into the control room. Washu  
followed him and started working the controls.  
She managed to open a second access hatch that gave Orrin access   
to the main core chamber. As he was crawling through the hatch he   
looked up at Washu.  
"If anything comes into the control room, get yourself back to  
the Kryton." he said.  
"I will, my love." she replied.  
Orrin crawled through and started climbing over the components of  
power core to plant his charges. Before long he located the correct  
components, set the charges, set them to a sixty second delay and   
crawled back out into the control room. When he stood up Washu was  
there waiting for him, she was uncircled in a force field and two 3rd  
stage Darklings stood in the room. Orrin had only fought one of these  
monsters before and barely survived the battle, now he had two to face.  
The two creatures stood seven feet tall, they had humanoid body  
shapes with elongated faces that seemed vaquely humanoid as well, but  
more grotesque. Their bodies wee black with smooth, shiny armor   
plating and short spikes on their joints. They each had a thick tail  
that ended in a sharp multibladed weapon, their hands had two thumbs,  
with wicked looking knuckle blades, and their lets were reverse   
articulated with large four toed feet. On top of their heads were a  
pair of clear crystal horns. The creatures readiated with dark power  
and their red eyes reguarded Orrin without emotion. This was the  
highest level of development for a Darkling that was not a Regis or  
Regent, and they were powerful.  
Orrin ignited the Star Gem Sword and launched himself at them, but  
it was not a good move. The first Darkling raised a finger and Orrin  
was sent flying to the wall with enough force to dent the metal. He  
stood up, caughed up blood, and then charged again. This time he   
reached them and slashed with the sword, but the blade defected off  
a force field. The other Darkling raised a finger and a blast of  
energy knocked Orrin off his feet and sent the Star Gem Sword flying.  
Orrin fell to the floor half conscious and then realized he was  
behind lifted into the air. A Darkling had him around the throat and  
Washu was screaming inside her shield.  
"Orrin, Orrin, forget about me, run, run, run!" she cried with  
tears in her eyes.  
"Never!" he croaked through the creature's powerful grip.  
Suddenly, the Star Gem flared with a bright light, the sword  
levitated into the air, and flew straight at the Darkling holding   
Orrin up. The energy blade of the sword ignited and it embedded itself  
into the monster's chest. The Darkling squealed with agony, lost its   
grip on Orrin. Before the creature fell, Orrin twisted in mid air,   
grabbed the sword handle, pulled it out, and whirled around taking the  
Darkling's head all before landing on the floor on his two feet.  
Washu's force field was gone in an instant and the second Darkling  
attacked, but this time the Star Gem Sword acted of its own accord  
again. The gem flared bright again, and a blast of energy shot out from  
the sword blade and incinerate the creatures instantly. When the smoke  
cleared the two could see that the blast tore through the ship melting  
the walls and superstructure. A distant roar of air told them that the  
blast penetrated the hull on the other side of the ship and atmosphere  
was escaping.  
"That was, incrediable." Washu said in awe of the power she just  
witnessed. He is as powerful as Tenchi, she thought to herself.  
"The Star Gem acted on its own. It only did that once before,  
a long time ago." Orrin said in surprise.  
"Be glad that it did and saved us." Washu said.  
"Lets get out of here hefore the charges go off." Orrin said.  
Suddenly there were two massive explosions in the power core  
chamber, they were hurled off their feet, and the lights went dim. An  
alarm started to go off. Washu summoned her holopad and looked at a  
sensor reading from the core. It was on a overload cycle, and it was  
going to blow.  
"We have thirty seconds to get out or we fry." she said.  
  
On the bridge Kagato and the Regis tried to keep their footing as  
the explosions took place. The Darkling and humanoid crew ran over   
their consoles to find the cause of the disturbance. The Regis already  
knew what was wrong, she felt the loss of two of her children.  
"We have intruders." she said.  
"Mistress, the main power core is on an overload cycle! Its going  
to explode!" shouted a humanoid crewman.  
"Eject the core!" Kagato commanded.  
"Done!" replied the crewman.  
  
Orrin and Wasbu materialize on the bridge of the Kryton in time to  
see a large piece of machinery eject from the bottom of the Soja. Orrin  
jumped into his command chair and magnified the image. It was the core  
they just sabatoged.  
"Dammit!" he exclaimed.  
"I should have seen this coming." Washu said summoning her holo-  
pad. Things like this really annoyed her.  
Suddenly another powerful energy blast hit the Kryton, the lights  
flickered, and the main holoscreen crackled. The ship began to list to  
one side, and it was then that Orrin realized that the inertial   
stabilizers were offline. He went flying into the wall of the bridge  
and caught Washu in his arms as she fell towards him. The holoscreen  
flickered some more and then went out completely. A few seconds later  
the holoscreen reappeared. An image of the Kryton appeared there as if  
from an external camera. Most of the ship itself was missing, large  
holes could be seen it its side, and great sparks of electricity shot  
from broken power conduits.  
"That did it, sire. I am loosing major system functions. We are  
dead in space, I'm afraid." Kryton said.  
"Download yourself to an avitar and prepare an escape pod." Orrin  
said.  
"Already working on it." the new avitar said after it formed on  
the bridge next to him.  
There was another massive explosion that hit the ship, this time  
it was the core of the Soja exploding. The three occupants of the   
bridge were thrown to the floor. Orrin crawled over to Washu and helped  
her stand up. The holoscreen showed the remains of the blast and showed  
that the Soja had survive it.  
"Kryton, load the dark matter into a torpedo launcher and fire it  
at the rift." Orrin said.  
"That system is still online, doing it now. Done. Firing!"   
Kryton said.  
There was a slight lurch as the pod was fire from one of the   
forward torpedo tubes of the ship. The pod raced with great speed   
towards the rift, but before it arrive a beam lanced from the Soja and  
destroyed it.  
"NO!" Orrin shouted and slammed his fist onto the deck, denting  
it.  
Washu held him close, tears in her eyes. For the first time she  
was at a loss of what to do next. "What do we do now?" she asked.  
"Kryton, is the fold system still online?" Orrin asked.  
"Yes it is, for all the good it will do." Kryton said.  
"Set it to overload, these bastards aren't taking us down without  
a fight." Orrin spat.  
"Setting up the overload cycle now. Done. The escape pod is  
ready." Kryton said, and a hatch opened up on the floor of the bridge.  
The three climbed in and slid down a long slide that ended up in   
a small version of the original bridge. Orrin took a seat at a chair   
that seemed to be formed from the floor as one piece and started working  
the holographic console. The escape pod lurched for a second, and then  
pulled away from the main ship.  
"Sire, according to my calculations the blast from my overloading  
fold drive will not penetrate their shields." Kryton said.  
"It will if you channel the overload energy through the Starburst  
Unit." Orrin replied.  
"It certainly will at that. I am making the modifications now."  
Kryton said.  
"What is a Starburst Unit, and what will it do?" Washu asked, her  
cur.  
"It will make a very big bang." Orrin said with a grin.  
  
The tiny escape pod was more like a shuttlecraft. It raced under  
the massive Soja and its small size made it difficult for the slower  
energy cannons to target it. Orrin sent the small ship into a dive and   
made for the atmosphere of the Earth. There was no way for them to   
close the rift now, so they had to find another answer to their problem.  
In the meantime, the Starburst Unit would deal with their immediate  
threat.  
"Overload in ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." Kryton announced.  
  
On the bridge of the Soja the overload of the fold system  
registered on the main holoscreen. Kagato puzzled over the readings and  
realized the power level was not nearly enough to endanger them. He  
turned towards the Regis who had a very wide grin on her face. She had  
just witnessed the destruction of the dark matter pod, and all the hopes  
of the heroes chances to close the rift were gone with that one lucky   
shot. She made a mental note to give the gunner an appropriate award  
for his targetting skills, later in private.  
"There is nothing to stand in our way, now." she said.  
"At last, a victory I can live with." Kagato said.  
  
Suddenly, the fold drive of the Kryton overloaded and the power  
of the blast was channeled via magnetic bottling into the Starburst   
Unit. The surge of energy supercharged the device, and destroyed it  
was the same time. The resulting blast of energy was one thousand times  
greater than the initial one. The great spherical explosion expanded   
out from where the Kryton had been and it slammed into the Soja. The   
force shield of the great ship withstood the blast for only a few   
seconds before it gave out, and the blast smashed into the hull of the   
ship. Kagato and the Regis fell from their feet as the vessel was torn   
apart by the great surge of energy. The walls of the bridge began to   
burn white hot as the surging energy reached where they were. The Regis   
rose into the air, grabbed Kagato by the hand, and with a wave she   
summoned a black portal. The two passed into it and the portal closed   
just as the bridge was engulfed in white light.  
  
Part III: Sadness, the Moon, and Yugi Awakens...  
  
On Earth everyone shielded their eyes from the massive blast. The  
light was so bright that it made the sky glow as if it were daytime, but  
soon the darkness of night fell upon the land again. All that was left  
now was a massive expanding ball of gas and dust that was so large it  
could be seen from the ground. Everyone gasped at the sight, and they  
all started talking at once, some screaming, other cursing. The other  
Washu who just arrived ran her hands over her holopad and a single tear  
fell down her face.  
"That was the Soja. It just exploded, and I can't detect that   
ship called the Kryton anywhere." she said.  
"Oh no!" cried Ryoko. She burried her had in Tenchi's chest and  
started crying. She had just lost someone she only just now accepting  
as her mother.  
"What about the rift?" Tenchi asked.  
"Its still there, and its going totally wild. The moon's orbit is  
shifting." Washu said.  
Ryoko fell to her knees still clutching Tenchi, her shoulders  
shaking with her sobs, but then she felt a familiar presence at the back  
of her mind. It wasn't Tenchi and Aeka, she could feel them strongly,  
but this was faint. She recognized it, stood up, and looked into the  
sky.  
"She's alive, my link with Washu isn't broken." she said.  
"Where is shw?" Tenchi asked.  
"Look!" shouted the real Sasami as she pointed into the sky.  
They all looked up and saw a small streak of light in the sky  
make several sharp turns in the air, then a low hummiong noise heralded  
the arrive of the shuttlecraft from the Kryton. The ship had the same  
organic look of the Kryton, but this one was more half saucer shaped  
with a long tadpole like tail trailing behind it. The small ship  
landed not far away, and before long Orrin, Washu, and Kryton in avitar  
form were running towards them.  
Ryoko teleported away, appeared in front of Washu and grabbed her  
in an embrace that too the scientist by surprise.  
"Mom, you had me scared to death." Ryoko cried.  
"I didn't realize you cared about me." Washu said with surprise.  
"I'm so sorry, I do care, I do care!" Ryoko sobbed.  
Orrin ran up to Tenchi and Aeka, he had a very upset look on his  
face. "The rift, its still there." he said.  
"We know, now what do we do?" Tenchi asked.  
"I have no idea." Orrin admitted.  
Tenchi wondered what they could do now. It would be up to the two  
Washus and their combined intellect to solve this problem. The ground  
started to shake worse, and the wind started picking up more. There   
were several bright flashes of lightning in the sky also.  
"Its starting! The moon is falling towards the Earth! It will  
hit in twenty minutes from now!" the other Washu shouted over the  
howling of the wind.  
"Tenchi, I'm so sorry for your world, but we must think of   
ourselves." Aeka said with tears in her eyes. The sad thing about was,  
Tenchi thought while blocking it out from her and Ryoko, that she was  
right. The Earth was doomed, but they had a way to leave the planet.  
The thought of abandoning Earth and leaving billions of people to die a  
death they knew nothing about for reasons they knew nothing about was  
sickening to him. He looked at Aeka and Ryoko and a new desire to  
live came over him. He had a reason to leave the Earth to its fate, he  
had a family and two wives to think about, and an unborn child. He   
looked around at the land that had been his family's shrine for over  
700 years and a great sadness fell over him. Tears ran down his face  
and his wives went to him to comfort him with hugs.  
"What is going on?" came a new voice from next to him.  
Tenchi looked to his left and saw a short girl no taller than  
Sasami wearing a lite blue dress. The girl had short cut hair and she  
looked up at Tenchi with affection and remourse at the same time.  
"Yugi!" Sasami shouted and she embraced the child.  
"Sasami, I felt something terribly wrong and I woke up. What is  
going on?" Yugi asked again.  
"The world is ending, dear. In a short while the moon will hit  
the Earth and this planet will be no more." Washu said.  
Yugi's eyes went wide and she hovered into the air. "NO!" she  
cried.  
"We tried to prevent it, but we failed." Tenchi said.  
"No, your my friends, I can't let this happen!" Yugi shouted and  
she started to glow with a bright light.  
"Child, even you don't have the power to prevent what is going to  
happen!" Washu shouted.  
"Tenchi, if you combine your power with mine we might be able to  
save this world." Yugi said.  
"It might work, we have nothing else to loose." Tenchi said. He   
walked up to the little girl, took her into his arms, and summoned the  
power of his Light Hawk Wings.  
"Count me in too!" Ryoko shouted as she flew over to them, walked  
into Tenchi's wings, and summoned her own Light Hawk Wings.  
Orrin looked at Washu and touched her cheek. She touched his hand  
and he kissed her. Then he raised the Star Gem Sword and walked towards  
the malestrom of energy swirling around the three figures. Orrin walked  
into the power of Tenchi and Ryoko's light hawk wings, and concentrated  
on the Star Gem. The stone began to glow and it added its own awesome  
power to the mix. The swirling energy that was around intensified to  
almost a thousand fold. The two Washus stood side by side watching this  
effect and summoned up their holopads to study the phenonenon in more  
detail. Yugi channeled their awesome power through herself and   
concentrated first on the moon. She tried to shift its orbit back to  
where it belonged, but she still did not have enough power to move it.  
She focused her power on the rift that was erraticly changing shape and  
causing the fabric of space and time to warp. She focus all the power  
she had at her disposal on it and the rift began to close. Soon, the  
anomily was completely gone. She refocused her power on the moon, but  
she still could not move it. The satelite still fell towards the Earth  
pulled in the gravity well of the planet.  
"I closed the rift, but I can't stop the moon." Yugi said, holding  
tight to Tenchi's arms.  
"We can help." Sasami said as she stepped into the swirling and  
in an instant the image of Tsunami appeared transposed over top of  
Sasami's smaller frame.  
The goddess focused her awesome power into the malestrom of energy  
swirling around them, and Yugi concentrated again. This time she could  
feel the moon shifting position. She warped space around it and forced  
the immense mass of the satelite to shift position. Before long the  
moon was back in its proper orbit. Yugi released her power and the  
swirling mass of energy collapsed, and with it so did everyone else.  
  
Tenchi sat up bolt upright and suddenly fell back again as a great  
blast of pain hit his head. He looked around and found that he was  
in his bedroom. The walls were all intact, and everything was in place.  
He sat up more slowly and let the pain in his head ease away before  
trying to move again. He felt a presence behind him, physically, and  
mentally. He looked behind him and saw Ryoko lying on the bed sleeping.  
She looked so angelic when she was asleep he thought. Then, he felt the  
other presence, and she came in through the door to his room holding  
a tray.  
"Lord Tenchi, what are you doing out of bed?" Aeka asked.  
"How long have I slept?" he asked her.  
"You, Ryoko, Sasami, Yugi, and Orrin have slept for almost  
four days." she said.  
Four days! He tried to stand, but nearly collapsed because he  
was so weak. Aeka sat the tray on an end table, grabbed him before he  
fell, and helped him back into bed. She sat down next to him and gave  
his a loving kiss.  
"Washu repaired the house and the shrine. She said it will be  
two weeks before the distortions from the rift have faded enough to  
send everyone back to their dimensions." Aeka explained.  
"So, everyone is still here, then." he said.  
"Its been an interesting four days with almost twenty Ryoko's,  
twenty of me, two Sasami's, and the others." Aeka said.  
"I take it we succeeded in saving the world, again." Tenchi   
said.  
Aeka kissed him again. "Yes, my brave hero, you certain have."  
she smiled.  
It was at that moment that Washu came rushing through the door.  
She was holding a small device in her hands.  
"Aeka is...oh, I see your finally awake Tenchi." she said.  
"Hi, Little Washu, what's your hurry?" Tenchi asked.  
"The distortions have disapated enough for me to scan the outer  
solar system. I was looking for how the Darklings were controlling  
that rift. I discovered something interesting and frightening at the  
same time." Washu said.  
"What is it, Miss Washu?" Aeka asked.  
"A concentrated neutreno stream beamed in from subspace was what  
they used to create and control the rift. Their understnad of Quantum  
Dynamics and the manipulation of the Temperal Strata is quite impressive  
actually, but that is not what has me worried." Washu said.  
"Then what is it?" Tenchi asked, but he didn't have the heart to  
tell her that he didn't understand a thing of what she just said.  
"The neutreno beam originated from a planet outsiide of the solar  
system." she said.  
"That is not very surprising, what planet would that be?" Aeka  
asked.  
Washu looked the princess in the eyes and considered not telling  
her, but she didn't have heart to do that to her. "It originated from  
Planet Jurai." she said quickly.  
Aeka gasped and Tenchi sat up on his elbow. "That is impossible!  
Your reading must in error!" Aeka cried.  
"My readings are very rarely ever wrong, thank you, and I double  
checked everything. The beam originated from Jurai. My estimate is it  
was projected up from the surface somewhere in the Juesquari Forest."  
Washu said.  
"The Juesquari Forest, that is a vast nature preserve, it covers  
thousands of square miles on Jurai." Aeka said.  
"And the trees there are more than a mile high, which would   
provide excellent cover. Generating such a beam would require a great  
deal of power some very specialized, and massive machinery." Washu   
added.  
"Great Tsunami! That means the Darkness is on Jurai." Aeka   
gasped.  
"I'm afraid so. I fear this isn't over yet." Washu said as she  
left the room. The two watched the short genius leave the room and  
then they looked at each other. Tenchi could feel her fear through  
his link with her, and he held out his arms to her. She layed down  
on the bed next to him and rolled over into his arms. He held her   
there for a while until the pain in his head made him fall back to  
sleep. When she noticed that Tenchi was out again, Aeka kissed him  
on the forehead, sat up, and closed him and Ryoko with a blanket.  
  
Part IV: A Time to Heal All Wounds...  
  
Orrin opened his eyes and found himself in familiar surroundings.  
He was in Washu's lab, he did not know that it had been destroyed and  
rebuilt, however. He was in the bedroom she slept in when she was work-  
ing on those long projects into the late night. He sat up and noticed   
he was undressed except for a pair of black boxer shorts, at least that  
is what she called them, and smiled since he knew those where her idea.  
He made his way out into the rest of the lab and heard the sound of  
typing. Washu was sitting on her floating seat typing away at her holo-  
pad. She had reverted to child form and was working so diligently that  
she did not realize he was there. That is until he crept up silently  
behind her, put his hands over her eyes, and said, "Guess who?"  
Washu stopped working and was a bit annoyed but realized that the  
man did not know which Washu he was seeing. A second later she tapped  
his shoulder, he looked down at her dumbfounded, and then realized that  
what he had in his hands was a doll made in her likeness.  
"You want the other Washu, she's in the house." she said with  
a smile as the door to the lab appeared.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Little Washu." he said with a blush.  
"Its alright, no wonder she likes you, you do look like him." she  
said almost seductively.  
Orrin smiled at her and made his way to the door almost at a run.  
  
The living room of the house was very crowded with multiple   
versions of Ryoko, Aeka, the alternate reality Tenchi who was looking  
very nervous, Sakuya, and two versions of Sasami who were playing with  
a very happy Yugi. The demi-goddess child had created a pair of cartoon  
like carrot creatures and Ryu-Ohki and Ken-Ohki were running around  
the room chasing them. The three girls giggled and rolled on the floor  
watching the antics of the two cabbits.  
Orrin went into the kitchen and found Aeka and Washu cleaning a   
vary large pile of dirty dishes. The genius in her adult form turned  
around at the noise of somone coming into the kitchen, saw him, and ran  
to him throwing her arms around him. Aeka looked, smiled at them, and  
continued her work.  
"I ran into your double in the lab." he said.  
"You didn't do anything with her did you?" Washu asked.  
"No, no! I thought she was you, and she directed me here."  
he said waving his hands in front of him.  
"Good, I won't want to have to punish you." she said playfully.  
"How long have I been out?" he asked her.  
"Just about four days, give or take a few hours. Yugi and Sasami   
woke up earlier around noon, and Tenchi and Ryoko are still out of it."   
Washu said.  
"Something tells me the world did not end while I was asleep." he  
said.  
"You all did it. The rift is closed, the moon is back in place,  
and the spacial distortions are starting to fade away." Washu smiled   
and she kissed him lovingly. Orrin welcomed that kiss and returned it  
wholeheartedly. Aeka looked at them, smiled, and let her thoughts   
drift into Tenchi and Ryoko's dreams as they slept.  
"It will be two more weeks before its safe to open dimensional  
portals again without causing a breakdown of local spacetime, but  
then your not in too much of a hurry to leave me are you?" she asked.  
"I can stand being here for two weeks, as long as I get to spend  
them with you." he said.  
They embraced and kissed for several minutes until they heard   
Aeka clear her throat. "Miss Washu, these dishes will not clean them-  
selves and we need to feed alot of people this afternoon." she said  
in a very fake serious tone. Her stern face broke into a smile.  
"Alright, lets help her out so we can have some private time,   
eh?" Washu said as they walked to the sink and started helping the   
princess with the dishes.  
  
Ryoko rolled over and felt very well rested. She opened her eyes  
and saw the peaceful face of her dearest Tenchi sleeping next to her.   
She touched his face, running her fingers along his lips, and then   
ending with them on his cheek. Tenchi raised his hand and took hers,   
opened his eyes, and kissed her hand.  
"Good afternoon." he whispered.  
"Are we in heaven or did we save the Earth?" Ryoko asked.  
"We saved it, but we were out for four days because of it." he  
explained.  
"We've been asleep for four days." Ryoko said with surprise on her  
face.  
"Yup. And, Aeka was up here to check on us." he said pointing to  
the tray on the end table behind him.  
"Is she alright, and everyone else?" Ryoko asked.  
"Everyone else is fine. But, Washu told us something very  
puzzling." he said.  
"Everything mom tells people can be puzzling." Ryoko replied.  
"She said the source of the rift was on Planet Jurai of all   
places." Tenchi said.  
"How did Aeka take that?" Ryoko asked as she ran her fingers  
through his hair. To him it was a very soothing sensation.  
"Not too good. I sense its frightened her a bit." he admitted.  
Ryoko sat up and looked at the tray sitting on the end table. It   
had a pitcher of orange juice, two glasses, and four tuna fish   
sandwiches on two paper plates. There were also some rice cakes and  
a small ceramic jar of homemade rasberry jelly that Sasami had made  
that summer.  
"I take it Sasami is out too, eh?" she said looking at the sand-  
wiches which looked like someone without much skill made them.  
"Aeka meant well, though." he said looking where she was looking.  
They ate the lunch, which was actually not all that bad for some-  
thing Aeka made, and they made their way downstairs. They walked arm  
in arm and were greeted by the cheers of over twenty Ryokos, and very  
cross looks from over twenty Aekas.  
"Now, now! We talked about this." warned Mihoshi.  
"The first day they were all fighting over that poor boy. Then,  
Washu threatened to turn them all into frogs if they didn't behave  
themselves." said Khyone who was waiting for them at the bottom of the  
stairs and jestured to the very nervous looking Tenchi duplicate.  
Aeka, hearing all the noise came out of the kitchen, saw Tenchi  
was on his feet, and hugged him. "I'm glad you were able to get up  
today, Lord Tenchi." she said. Tenchi gave her a tender kiss on the  
lips.  
All of the Aekas started cheering and sticking their tounges out  
at all of the other Ryokos.  
"Now cut that out, or you'll be eating flies for dinner!" shouted  
Washu from the kitchen.  
All the women shut their mouths and turned around back to the TV.  
"This place has been a zoo the past four days." Aeka said.  
  
Outside Nagi, in her GP uniform, and the Mihoshi duplicate in a  
winter coat watched birds gathering seeds in several feeders sitting in  
the front yard of the Masaki house. Mihoshi reflected on her past life,  
her life as a bounty hunter chasing after Ryoko, and she was starting  
to have doubts about her career. She loved the atmosphere of this   
place, how there was a sense of family here, and now there was so much  
love among the residence with the exception of some unmentioned   
visitors.  
Nagi thought about her life, she remembered that faithful day that  
Aeka and Tenchi married. She was so happy to see them together, but was  
sad when he remembered the tragedy that took place that day. She saw  
Ryoko materialize before the newly married couple and confront them, a  
flight between Aeka and Ryoko broke out, Tenchi tried to stop Ryoko,  
and he was killed in the process. She reflected back on the moments  
that occured on that day, she remembered the anguished cries of Aeka as  
she was lead away from the shrine and the body of her fallen husband,  
the agonized scream of Ryoko when she realized what she had just done,  
and the shocked screams of the gathered family members as they watched  
Tenchi fall to the ground. A tear fell down her face. She then   
reflected on what she saw here. Tenchi was alive here, he was married  
to both Aeka and Ryoko here, and they were happy.  
"I'm leaving the bounty hunter bizz." Mihoshi said.  
"Huh? What did you say, I wasn't listening?" Nagi said.  
"I said, I am leaving the bounty hunter bizz." Mihoshi repeated.  
"Why?" Nagi asked.  
"I've lived in the company of death long enough. This place has  
reminded me that there is another way of life for me." she said.  
"When I go back home there will be few changes. Tenchi will still  
be dead, Aeka will be a meer shell of her former self, and I will still  
have to find Ryoko for what she did." Nagi said.  
"Here is an idea. If this Washu can send you home, have her send  
you back in time before Tenchi is murdered." Mihoshi suggested.  
Nagi looked up at the now former bounty hunter and had the sudden  
urge for the first time in her life to kiss a woman.  
"Thank you!" she cheered as she ran into the house.  
Mihoshi smiled to herself. Helping others made her feel good.  
She pulled out her Galactic Bounty Hunter's license from her coat  
pocket, cocked back her arm, and threw it into the lake where it  
sank with a kurplunk. She smiled to herself and felt good with her  
decision.  
  
The next two weeks were a time to remember at the Masaki house.  
The visitors, all of them, made life interesting for Tenchi, Aeka and  
Ryoko. Many of the alternate reality duplicates had trouble seeing  
their arch rivals hanging off of Tenchi, kissing him, and laughing at  
his jokes from time to time. A riot almost started when both girls  
went into the onsen with him, but Washu appeared from her lab with  
a large frog in her hands and they all shut up really quick. To make  
room for all the duplicates Washu made a large subspace room off the  
coat closet in the living room with rooms for each of the different  
Aekas and Ryokos. The two Sasami's shared the same room, while young  
Yugi opted to return to her stasis chamber to go back to sleep. This  
prompted both Sasami's to start crying, but Yugi explained it was for  
the best before she started getting out of hand with her power again.  
Yugi had been surprised to see Sakuya again but then realized she was  
a different Sakuya from another dimension. She thought about bringing  
the real Sakuya back, but she thought about how it might effect Tenchi  
and his current relationship with Aeka and Ryoko. He fell in love with  
her creation, she killed it, and bringing her back would just over  
complicate matters. She would have to make this all up to them soneday,  
she thought. I some ways the feelings of her shadow reflected her own,  
and in some ways she did love that human.  
Meanwhile, Washu made the announcement that it was safe to start  
sending everyone home. She gathered the some twenty duplicates of Aeka  
and Ryoko into her lab and started sending them to their respective  
dimensions through her portal machine. The house was not as crowded   
anymore, and now it was time for the original visitors to go home. Ryoko took the alternate Tenchi to the side and started talking to him.  
He nodded yes and no to different questions, and then she gave him a   
few bit of information he would need. Tenchi smiled at her and she gave  
him a peck on the cheek that made him blush.  
  
Part V: Going Home...  
  
Tenchi Masaki looked back through the portal at the people he had  
come to call his friends. They waved to him and he waved back. Ryoko  
gave him a peace sign, and then the portal closed. He was alone again,  
no monsters, no aliens, just him and his normal boring life. The air  
was warm in his dimension since it was still summertime. Washu had  
sent him back to his world just a few minutes after he originally left,  
so he would not have to explain why he had been gone for so long. He  
made his way down towards his house and he could smell the sweet scent  
of his mother's sweetrolls. She always had something really nice from  
the oven waiting for him when he got home from school everyday. As he  
walked towards the house he noticed something was not quite the same   
as usual. There was someone waiting for him by the front gates. When   
he got closer he noticed it was Ryoko in her shool uniform. She looked  
up and saw him, a blush formed on her face, and he remembered what it  
was that other Ryoko had told him. Just be yourself, don't try to be  
something your not, and she will fall for you.  
"Hi, what are you doing here, Ryoko?" he asked.  
"I wanted to appologize for yesterday." she said, kicking leaves  
around with the toe of her shoe.  
"All I did was ask you out." he said.  
"Ya, but I shot you down really bad, and in front of my friends."  
she said unable to look him in the eyes.  
"I'm used to it." Tenchi said.  
"It wasn't what I really wanted to say. I was afraid to say yes  
because of what my friends would say." Ryoko admitted.  
"You were going to say Yes?" Tenchi said in surprise.  
She nodded her head. "The girls talk, because your a priest's  
grandson and all." she said.  
"I didn't even know you liked me." Tenchi said, walking a little  
closer. Just be yourself, he heard the other Ryoko say in his mind.  
Ryoko looked up at him, brushed a lock of wild white hair out of  
her eyes, and said, "I like you alot, actually."  
Tenchi took her hand, which made her blush furiously. "Then,   
don't worry about what those boneheads think or say. I like you too."  
he said with a smile.  
"Oh, Tenchi, I'm sorry I hurt you." she said hugging him.  
When they parted they looked into each other's eyes.  
"Let's try this again. Would you like to go see a movie sometime  
with me, Ryoko?" he asked.  
"Yes, I would." Ryoko said with a smile.  
A powerfully sweet smell wafted in the wind towards them.  
"WOW! What smells so good?" Ryoko asked.  
"My mom's cooking, say would you like to meet her?" he asked.  
"Sure." Ryoko said. She took his arm and they walked towards  
the house.  
Years would pass and the relationship between Tenchi and Ryoko  
would grow. Shortly after graduation from high school they married in  
a small private service at the family shrine, lived in his parents   
house, and had three sons. Katsuhisho retired as the priest of the   
family shrine and Tenchi took over his duties. Tenchi and Ryoko lived  
a long full life with each other, and they loved each over very much.  
Many years later an elderly Tenchi Masaki, wearing the robes of   
his calling as a priest, walked with his loving wife Ryoko down the   
stone pathway towards the shrine. They held each other, out of love,  
and out of the fact they needed to help each other walk. Several small  
chidren, the grandchildren, ran around playing in the grass and the  
bushes. A tall man walked up to them and smiled at them. There were  
several other adults sitting around a large picnic spread around on the  
ground just off the path. He was wearing the robes of a priest like his  
father, but he was now the head of the family shrine as Tenchi had once  
been.  
"Mom, dad, I'm glad you decided to join us." the man said.  
They sat with their three sons and their wives and enjoyed the  
company of their grandchildren. They lived like this for several more  
years until one day the family found them laying in their bed together.  
They seemed so peaceful sleeping in each other's arms, but they were not  
asleep...they have left this world for the one beyond...together for all  
eternity.  
  
Ryoko and Aeka both hugged Tenchi goodbye, and then they hugged  
their duplicates that he married goodbye. They walked through Washu's  
machine and found themselves back home. Like the duplicate Tenchi they  
were sent back minutes after they left their dimension. Their ears were  
met by the sound of breaking glass and the yells of Noboyuki and Yosho  
as they tried to calm Tenchi down. He was drinking again. Ryoko took  
Aeka's hand, they nodded to each other, and teleported to the house.  
The first thing they did was knock Tenchi out and put him to bed,  
which releaved Noboyuki. They spent the rest of the day scouring the   
house for every bottle of saki, whisky, beer, and anything with any  
kind of alcohol in it. They then dumped it all down the toilet.  
Together the two women worked with Tenchi over a period of three  
years to help him. At times he was angry, at times he cried, and at  
times he was totally normal, but he never hurt them anymore. He was  
remorseful over hurting them, he did not realize what he had been  
doing to them, and asked them why did they still love him after all he  
had done.  
"Because we kept the hope in our hearts that we could help you."  
Ryoko told him.  
"And we hoped that the Tenchi we grew to love would still be in  
there somewhere." Aeka said.  
"I love you both, you know that." Tenchi said with tears in his  
eyes.  
"We know, that is why we are going to marry you." Aeka said.  
"What?" Tenchi said almost jumping out of his skin.  
"Both of us, we are putting our differences aside, we both want  
you, and you love both of us." Ryoko explained.  
"But, marry both of you, is that legal?" Tenchi asked.  
"On Jurai it is." Aeka said as she leaned over kissed him, follow-  
ed by Ryoko who also kissed him.  
Tenchi put his arms about them and almost felt like crying. "I  
love you, I will marry you." he said.  
"Oh, Tenchi." the two girls said at once and they rested their  
heads on his shoulders.  
They would marry in a large service attended by the Emperor of  
Jurai who was not happy to see his daughter marry Tenchi Masaki, but he  
had to live with the fact since Aeka threatened not to let him visit  
the grandchildren when they came if he didn't. Ryoko denounced her  
pirate past and devoted her life to making Tenchi happy. Sasami had  
been heart broken over how Tenchi had treated her, and it took her a  
few days to get up the courage to be around him again. He was very  
remourseful over what he did to her, and soon they were in each  
other's arms crying away the pain. Before long things were getting  
back to normal. All was right with their lives, until the next evil   
villain came along that is.  
  
Mihoshi hugged herself goodbye and the two blondes, the police  
woman, and the former bounty hunter both cried out loud. After leaving  
a sizable puddle of tears on the floor Mihoshi hugged and kissed every-  
one goodbye and went through the portal. She was wearing a very   
feminine dress that Aeka had picked out for her, with white lace, yellow  
flowers that went well with her tan, and a pair of white pumps that went  
with the outfit. She looke beautiful in it. She was on the deck of her  
ship again, and her crew watched her emerge from the portal, wave good-  
bye to a group of poeple they never saw before. There was one person  
they saw that looked like the dreaded Ryoko they were always following.  
When the portal closed Mihoshi took her usual set at the captain's  
chair, and looked at her ragged crew. They just stood there looking at  
her. One crewman had the courage to step forward. His name is Remard,  
and he was one of her best engineers.  
"Mihoshi, ma'am, what are you wearing?" the crewman asked in a  
raspy voice.  
"Find yourself another captain, I am quiting this racket." she  
said.  
"But, but, we have Ryoko in our sights!" Remard sputtered.  
"Leave her alone, I'm tired of chasing her, and I am sure she  
is tired to running from me. Just take me to the closest M class planet  
and drop me off." she said.  
"Why are you doing this?" another crewman asked.  
"I learned something when I was away. I learned there is more to  
me than hunting people down. I want to have a life, get married, have  
kids, grow old with a man who loves me." she said with a wistful look  
on her face.  
"You certainly did change, you hate men who try to hit on you."  
Remard said with true affection on his face.  
"You guys were like family to me for a long time, will you visit  
me?" she asked.  
"Yes!" they all said.  
"M class planet detected. The charts call it....Earth....an old  
colony of the planet Jurai." the helmsman said.  
"Excellent. I know just the place on that planet you can let me   
off at too." she said.  
"Huh? But, this is our first time there." the helmsman said, very  
confused.  
"Trust me, there is is this nice house sitting my this lake, and  
its a nice place where I know I will be happy." she said.  
Soon after, Mihoshi's ship appeared over the Masaki house to the  
shock of its residence, a yound Tenchi Masaki and his dad Noboyuki. The  
blonde ex-bounty hunter decended on a lift beam from the ship and landed  
in the courtyard. Aeka came out of the house and scowled at the woman,  
she was very beautiful with her tan skin and that golden hair.  
"Hi, you don't know me, but my name is Mihoshi and I was wondering  
if I could stay here for a while." she said as the ship raced away.  
"Sure, how long?" Tenchi said with some hesitation.  
"As long as it takes," she said, walked up to him, and kissed him  
on the cheek. Aeka seethed with jealousy, she just got rid of Ryoko and  
now she had this blonde bombshell with a brain to deal with...life was  
extremely cruel.  
  
Washu took special care programming the portal for Nagi's return  
to her dimension. She targetted the correct time period and location  
to the near exact second. She stood by the device and watched as Nagi  
gave everyone hugs. The GP women gave Tenchi a kiss on the cheek and  
then signalled to Washu that she was ready. The portal opened and  
the grounds of the shrine just before the wedding procession left for  
the reception appeared.  
"Good luck." Tenchi said.  
"I'm going to need it." Nagi said.  
The GP woman ran through the portal and found herself in the  
shrine courtyard. The procession were Tenchi would die at the hands of  
Ryoko's accidental sword stroke was on its way. She had to find Ryoko  
and fast. Which she actived her antigrav belt and jumped onto the roof.  
She found Ryoko there and ran over to her. The space pirate with very  
surprised to see her.  
"What are you doing here, Nagi?" Ryoko asked.  
"To help a friend out, whether she want it or not." Nagi said.  
"What do you mean? I'm here to see Tenchi." she said.  
"You won't like what your about to see." Nagi said.  
"See what, what has happened since I left?" Ryoko asked.  
"You'll see, but promise me not to fly off the handle." Nagi  
said.  
"It depends on what it is." Ryoko said giving the GP woman a   
strange look.  
The wedding procession came through the courtyard, and Ryoko's  
eyes when wide when she realized who the married couple were. Ryoko  
stood up, a rage on face, and she ignited her light sword. Nagi was  
ready, she pulled out her capture device, and sealed Ryoko up in a   
green crytal all the way up to her shoulders.  
"Let me go! Let me go!" Ryoko cried, tears falling down her face.  
"If I do, Tenchi will die...by your hands." Nagi said cooly.  
"WHAT! I would never hurt Tenchi!" Ryoko shouted.  
Nagi pulled out the holoviewer and showed Ryoko the scene of  
Tenchi's death at her hands. She noticed that Tenchi was in a wedding  
outfit, and Aeka in a wedding kimono just as they were now. Then, she  
looked down into the crowd that was walking past and she saw Mihoshi   
with them in dress uniform, and then she looked up at Mihoshi who stood   
next to her.  
"Oh god!" Ryoko said with tears going down her face.  
Nagi disintegrated the crystal that held Ryoko and could only sit  
and watch the woman collapse where she stood and cry. She had loved   
that man so long, and now she lost him. She left for a short tune and   
in that time her arch rival Aeka had won him. Nagi felt sorry for her  
at that moment, and for the first time in years she understood what   
drove her to do what she did...despiration and heartbreak.  
"Thank you." Ryoko said.  
"That wasn't easy for you to watch was it?" Nagi asked.  
"No, but you saved me from doing something I would regret for the  
rest of my life." Ryoko said.  
Years would pass and Ryoko would come to visit Tenchi and Aeka as  
they lived on Earth. She would play with the children, two boys, and  
a little girl. Sasmai assimilated with Tsunami and soon started to  
discover boys, and one day when Ryoko visited she met the brother of  
Sasami's Juraian boyfriend, Jurdan. It was love at first sight. A year   
later they married, and had a son who she named Tenchi.  
Nagi and Ryoko never told Tenchi and Aeka what had happened that  
day at the wedding until ten years later. Tenchi and Aeka were sitting  
with Ryoko and her husband Jurdan in the living room. She told them  
the story of how Nagi encased her in crystal on the roof of the shrine  
to save them. She showed the holographic video of Tenchi's death,  
and she cried for a while. Tenchi came around to her and hugged her,  
and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
"Thank you, I love you, and I consider you my best friend, Ryoko."  
he said.  
"Even though I love Jurdan with all my heart, I still feel love  
for you Tenchi." Ryoko said.  
"I know. It must have been hard carrying this secret all these  
years." Tenchi said with a smile.  
"I won't need to keep it a secret anymore." she said and she  
smashed the data crystal under her heel. "Becuase it never happened."  
  
Sakuya walked up to Tenchi, took his hand, and placed it on her  
belly. He smiled when he felt the tiny kick inside. There was a tiny  
life growing inside of her, and technically it was 'his' child, but  
in a way 'he' was not the father. She smiled up at him in that way he  
remembered from long ago, and the old pain begam to creep back in.  
"I will miss all of you." she said.  
"We will miss you. Its like losing you all over again." Tenchi  
said. Aeka put a hand on his should to reassure him.  
"I'm not the Sakuya you knew, but do know what its like to be   
loved by you. I can understand why you feel so sad." she said. "I  
am not her, but let me speak to you as if I were her, for this one  
time before I go."  
"Alright." he said swallowing back a sob.  
"Dear, sweet, Tenchi. I will love you always, and I want you know  
that I will remember you always. I want you to move on, don't forget  
me, but remember the good parts. Remember the fun we had, our first  
kiss, and he first time we held hands. Don't ponder on my death, but  
charish the time we had together. Cherish the good memories, and I   
will live forever in your heart." when she finished she had tears in   
her eyes.  
Tenchi, with tears in his eyes, put his arms around her, and she  
kissed him in that way they did that one night so long ago. They  
parted, Aeka and Ryoko whispered a "thankyou" to her, and then she   
vanished into the portal that took her home.  
Sakuya walked down the path towards the Maski house and Achika  
came bounding towards her.  
"Where have you been young lady?" Achika asked.  
"I just went for a walk." she said.  
"You've been gone an hour. Look at you, lets get you home and  
get you some warm tea." Achika said.  
"Ok, Ms. Masaki." Sakuya said.  
"Wait, didn't you have a pink shirt on this morning?" Achika asked  
suddenly.  
Sakuya froze in place a second. She was wearing a shirt that  
Sasami had bought her. "No, that one got dirty after lunch...silly me  
got food on it." she lied. The shirt had an image of Ryu-Oki muching  
a carrot on it.  
"Well, alright, come on, Tenchi is probably worried sick right  
now." Achika said.  
As they reached the front door, Achika turned around and looked  
at Sakuya.  
"You know, your marrying my son in a few weeks, would you mind,  
I mean would you like to, I mean I'd really like it if you called me   
'mom'." Achika said with a smile.  
"Sure, mom." Sakuya smiled back.  
  
Everything was peaceful at the Masaki house. Sasami was in the  
kitchen with Ryu-Ohki, Aeka was in the greenhouse tending the flowers,  
and Ryoko was with Tenchi cuddling up in front of the TV. Washu and  
Prince Orrin were on the opposite end of the couch in a similarly  
cuddled position. Sasami, who had done away with her Pretty Sammy  
outfit, sat on the floor with her Ryu-Ohki resting on her head. She  
held a dark grey PlayStation 2 controller in her hand and was watching  
the TV screen as she ran around the 3D battle arenas of Unreal  
Tournament. She just iced someone with the Ripper, switched to the   
Sniper Rift and executed three headshots in a row before making a run  
to the Redemer. She let it fly and a group of remote players, whom  
sat in their living rooms screaming in anguish, and were engulfed in a   
bright blast. "M-M-M-M-MONSTER KILL!" shouted a voice form the  
game.  
"They don't have games like this back home." the other Sasami   
said.  
"I for one think its way to violent for a little girl to be  
playing." said Ryu-Ohki.  
"Oh, and so I guess you'll give up playing my brother's Resident  
Evil 2 late at night, too." Sasami said.  
"Uh." was all the male cabbit could say.  
"Speaking of home, my portal machine should have signaled me that  
it found your universe by this time." Washu said as she summoned her  
holopad. She keyed in some commands and the answer she wanted showed  
up.  
"Hmmm. No match found, yet." she said.  
"That's Ok, Sasami can get us home." the other Ryu-Ohki said.  
Sasami looked up at the cabbit. "I can?" she asked.  
"Of course, your not a Magical Girl for nothing you know." he   
said.  
  
They gathered outside of the house to say goodbye to Sasami. She  
cried for little bit, Ryu-Ohki said goodbye to Ryu-Ohki with a hug and  
and a friendly lick on the nose, and then Sasami transformed to Pretty  
Sammy. Sasami averted her eyes during the transformation, and Tenchi  
wacked his dad on the back of the head for watching.  
Sasami twirled her septer/baton over her head and chanted out, "Oh powerful magic of light, powerful magic of Juraihelm, open a doorway   
through the ether of space and time to send us home!"  
She pointed the septer straight ahead and a beam of energy shot  
out. The beam formed a swirling portal, and in the center was a  
scene from a bedroom decorated like that of a young girl's. Ryoko   
noticed a poster of Leonardo DeCaprio in boxer shorts on one wall and  
smiled at Pretty Sammy.  
"Hey, I can dream can't I." Sammy said looking at her.  
"Thats my, I mean your bedroom?" Sasami asked.  
"Yup." Sammy said.  
"Goodbye, and good luck against this Pixy Misa you told us about."  
Aeka called to her.  
"I will, thank you, all of you." Sammy said as she and her Ryu-  
Ohki vanished into the portal.  
  
Part VI - Washu's Farwell...  
  
It took another week for Kryton to grow a new ship body from a   
piece of his avitar. The new ship hovered over the Masaki house, ran  
a few test flights over the lake, and then landed at its usual spot  
across the lake. The other Washu had already said her goodbyes after  
Sakuya left for her dimension, so the orignal Washu was left alone with  
Prince Orrin for one last night alone. That night was a night of great  
passion for the two since they knew it would be the last time they would  
ever see each other.  
The world around them came back into focus as they collapse into  
each others arms, exhausted, and Washu began to cry on Orrin's bare   
chest. He rapped his arms around her and held her there, tears starting  
to form in his own eyes from her sadness.  
Washu composed herself and kissed him longingly.  
"I will miss you." she said.  
"So will I." he said.  
"When are you going?" she asked him.  
"After breakfast, Sasami is fixing something special in my honor."  
Orrin said with a smile.  
"Dear sweet Sasami, she is so kind." Washu said.  
"What will you do after I am gone?" he asked.  
"I am going to investigate that neuteno beam from planet Jurai."  
she said.  
"I won't be here to protect you from the Darkness." Orrin said.  
"Don't worry, Tenchi and our family can handle them." Washu said.  
"Do not underestimate them...that is what the Elo'Quin did." Orrin  
warned.  
"I am the great scientific genius in the universe, don't worry  
about us...you just make sure you keep yourself safe." Washu said before  
kissing him.  
"I will, my dear sweet Washu." Orrin replied.  
  
Sasami had indeed made an excellent breakfast for them all that  
morning. She had made a traditional Setari dish which she got from  
Kryton and his databanks. They ate something like a pita sandwich but  
it had sweet syrup, fruit, and different ingrediants like egg and  
some nuts. The meal of very good despite the fact that the others found  
it unusual.  
Orrin and Washu spent most of their time together that morning  
walking around the Masaki shrine one last time together arm in arm.  
Ryoko watched them and felt very sorry for her mother. She could feel  
through her link with the ancient genius that she did love the man very  
much, and leaving him was breaking her heart. Before it was time for  
them to part they held each other under the shadow of Fonaho and just  
watched the clouds pass by.  
"There are few clouds on Galiea, my homeworld." he said.  
"You never really told me about your homeworld." Washu said.  
"Its not a planet. Its a sphereworld built by the Elo'Quin  
thousands of years ago." Orrin said.  
"And you live on the inside of the sphere?" Washu asked.  
"Yes, its over two AU in diameter, so ther is a great deal of   
surface area on the inside of the sphere." he replied.  
"That is alot of land mass." Washu commented. She calculated it  
in her mind and found that it would match the land mass of over ten  
million M-class worlds.  
"It must be beautiful." she said.  
Orrin looked into her eyes and kissed her. "Would you like to see  
my homeworld?" he asked.  
"How?" she asked.  
"Like this..." he said as he hold her in his arms and closed his  
eyes. Washu watched the world around her suddenly fall away and she   
was suddenly airborn with Orrin beside her. They drifted through mist  
and clouds and then emerged to a sight that took her breath away. The  
capital city of Buran on Galiea lay sprawled on a mountainside. The  
great city was massive, but did not intrude on the natural beauty of the  
land. In the distant horizon all around could be seen the rising   
surface of the great sphere barely visible in the haze of the atmsphere.  
Great alien trees with multicolored leaves grew in places, and strange  
winged animals flew in the air. They flew over a large ocena that was  
one time the size of the Pacific ocenn on Earth and watched great beasts  
with massive jawed mouths breaching the surface of the water like whales  
on Earth. The creatures here however were the size of the Yugami or   
larger. Soon, they were flying over a glorious palace with shimmering  
towers of crytal, great walls that almost looked like mother-o-pearl,   
and huge courtyards that could have easily fit several Masaki shrines.  
When the world returned to normal Washu kissed Orrin for what   
seemed an eternity. They parted and the tears began to pour again.  
Washu's holopad suddenly appeared and started beeping....Orrin's  
dimension has been detected.  
"Its time." she said.  
Orrin kissed her back and held her close one last time before they  
headed back to the house walking hand in hand.  
  
Orrin took his seat on the bridge of Kryton and watched his   
friends waving good bye on the ground. Washu blew a kiss into the air  
and waved up to the ship. Orrin waved back, though he knew they would  
be able to see him, and blew a kiss back to Washu. Washu, though,  
felt a sensation on his cheek like a soft kiss, and knew if had to have  
been manifested from Orrin. He put his hands on the controls, guided  
the ship over the Masaki house and took it into a steep climb through  
the clouds and into orbit.  
"Little Washu's portal is approximately three thousand kilometers  
from our location. I am seting course now." Kryton said.  
"Thank you." Orrin replied.  
"Sire, if you love her so much....why leave?" the ship asked.  
"I have unfinished business back home." Orrin said.  
"I understand. Will we see them again?" Kryton asked.  
"I don't know." Orrin said, and single tear fell down his face.  
Orrin closed his eyes and held back the sadness that was washing  
over him. Images of Washu's lovely face float past his mind's eye and  
he dreaded the thought of never seeing her again, but then images of  
family and friends back home came to him. Images of the Imperium  
fleet storming Galea, his homeworld, and of the lovely suitors he  
left behind at the royal palace who fought over him worse than Aeka and  
Ryoko fought over Tenchi before marrying him.  
I will always love you, Washu, he thought to himself as the ship  
passed through the portal.  
  
Part VII - The End Is Only the Beginning...  
  
The family gathered in Washu's lab to hear the news of what her  
research has uncovered. The genius did not revert back to her child  
like form, but decided to stay as an adult for now. She has her  
daughter back and was going to be a grandmother soon, she should  
start to act her age. Washu did make sure that Khyone kept Mihoshi on  
a short leach during their time in the lab. Washu looked at them  
with a very serious face and this denoted the seriousness of her  
findings.  
"I need you, Tenchi and Ryoko, to think back to the events of the  
two fights you had in the lab here." she said.  
"We were getting our asses kicked." Ryoko said.  
"Precisely." Washu said.  
"I really wish you would get to the point, Little Washu." Tenchi  
said.  
"Alright, you and Ryoko should have splatter those things." Washu  
commented.  
"Excuse me, but those things were mopping the floor with us."  
Kyone said.  
"But, Tenchi and Ryoko both have the powers of demi-gods. Ryoko  
has all of her gems, and she now has the power to destroy whole worlds  
if she wanted to, and Tenchi's powers are almost on par with her's."  
Washu said.  
"Do you mean the Darklings are stronger?" Tenchi asked with a   
little fear showing on his face.  
"NO, you should have been the one kicking ass and not getting   
your asses kicked! Look..." Washu exclaimed and she summoned up  
a giant holodisplay. The screen had two red lines like status bars,  
one labeled Tenchi and the other Ryoko. "This is your magical energy  
level right now." Washu said pointing out the fact that both meters went  
off the screen. "But, this is your energy level around the Darklings."  
she said and pointed to the meters again. This time the lines barely  
made it half way across the screen.  
"You mean they were nulifying Lord Tenchi and Ryoko's powers?"  
Aeka asked in shock.  
"And yours too." Washu said.  
"No wonder they were stomping us so good. We were at half out  
usual strength." Ryoko said shaking her head.  
"It appears that the Darklings have a natural ability to either  
neutralize or weaken magical energy around them. Which is probably  
why they were able to destroy Orrin's ship so easily." Washu said.  
"And those things are on Jurai." Aeka said coldly.  
Washu called up another display. This one showed the neutrino  
beam. The line carved a straigth line from the Juraian starsystem to  
the the Terran starsystem.  
"All indications show they they are indeed on Jurai." Washu said.  
"Then lets go to Jurai." Tenchi said standing up.  
"What?" Kyone said in surprise.  
"I you sure about this, Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked him.  
"He's sure, and we both now it." Ryoko said putting her arms   
around Tenchi the way she used to get Aeka riled up.  
"You do realize Tenchi, that the Darklings now have a Regent in  
the form of Kagato, and he is not at all fond of us." Washu said.  
"I have no love for him, and for what he did not Ryoko and then  
my homeworld." Tenchi said. Ryoko kissed him on the cheek when he  
made the comment about what Kagato did to her.  
"A journey to Jurai will take the Yugami six weeks." Khyone  
said.  
"Oh, wow, I love space advetnrues." Mihoshi said.  
"This isn't going to be a joy ride, Mihoshi." Khyone derated her.  
"We're going home, sis?" Sasami asked.  
Aeka looked at the young princess and nodded her head. "Yes,  
Sasami, we are going home but I wish it were under better circustances."  
she said.  
"And, there is no telling what is happening on Jurai right now."  
Washu said.  
"I can monitor intergalactic transmission and see if anyone has  
seen or heard anything strange from Jurai." Khyone said.  
"I can have Azaka and Kamadake try to reach my father." Aeka said.  
"We'll also need to get a great deal of provisions on board the  
Yugami, which will require a great deal of money" Washu commented.  
"These two weeks have really slaughtered the grocery budget for  
this month." Noboyuki said.  
"Hmmm. I do have this food replicator device I created. I guess  
I could make a larger version for us." Washu said.  
"As long as it doesn't blow up the ship." Tenchi said.  
"So little faith, Tenchi, for shame." Washu said waving a finger  
at him playfully.  
Everyone looked at each other and they all noted the resolve in  
their faces. They all nodded to each other and Washu switched the  
display to an image of planet Jurai and its twin ring systems.  
"I guess it is settled them, we go to Jurai." Yosho said.  
_____________  
End of Episode One...to be continued  
  
Thank very much. I worked hard on writing this first episode of this   
planned three episode series. I hope you really like it. I am writing  
stories that feature Orrin Quintarin in his own adventures, too. I am  
working on Episode Two - No Need for A Space Journey at this moment  
and the proloque and first chapter are almost ready. Stay tuned.  
  
If you enjoyed this fan fic series let me know at zorch@the-zorch.com. 


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